Merit Synthesis
by AngelicSentinel
Summary: Waking up in the middle of a death battle with needles flying at him hadn't been one of Cloud's better days. Seeing a limp black-haired body cradled in his arms with said needles sticking out of his neck made it even worse. But that's just the beginning: "Hey you, makeup guy. You've been quiet. What's your beef with Konoha?" She pointed at him. Kankuro sputtered, "It's face paint!"
1. In Which Team 7 Wakes

**Title** : _Merit Synthesis_  
 **Fandoms:** _Final Fantasy VII/Naruto_  
 **Author** : AngelicSentinel  
 **Rating:** Teen  
 **Relationships** : Aerith Gainsborough/Zack Fair, Cid Highwind/Shera  
 **Characters** : Team Seven, Cloud Strife, Zack Fair, Aerith Gainsborough as Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura respectively.  
 **Additional Information:** Friendship-centric, Reincarnation, Canon-typical Violence, Crossdressing, Heterosexual Relationships, Minor Groping, Same-Sex Flirting, Asexuality, Rule of Funny, Rule of Awesome, Lots of Platonic Hugging, Gender Dysphoria (at least one person reincarnated as the opposite sex and all that comes with that, deal with it) and probably more stuff you'll find objectionable that I can't be arsed to list right now. Consider yourself warned.  
 **Summary** : Waking up in the middle of a death battle with needles flying at him hadn't been one of Cloud's better days. Seeing a limp black-haired body cradled in his arms with said needles sticking out of his neck made it even worse. But that's just the beginning

 **Please note:** I don't mind constructive criticism in polite language, but please refrain from anything negative, especially about content or relationships. Thank you.

* * *

It wasn't raining, but it might as well have been.

Cloud awoke to the clash of metal and his skin, burning, burning, burning worse than the mako, worse than the geostigma, stronger than anything he'd ever felt. He had wounds all over him and scars where they had healed over with something inside of them. He tried to roll to his feet, but it was a no-go. Something warm was in his arms. He opened bright blue eyes and looked down, his head listing. His vision was still blurry, but he saw black hair fanned out in spikes, blood dribbling from the corner of an open mouth. Cloud shook his head violently as dual-voices overlaid themselves in his memory.

" _I…hated you."_

" _We're friends, right?"_

His hair was shorter than he remembered ever seeing it, but it was his face. "Zack?" he asked. No response. He shook his shoulders. Some kind of needles or spikes were sticking out his neck, and he wasn't breathing. "Zack!" he said again, panic in his voice. He laid him down gently.

Not again. This was one of his worst nightmares come true. The situation was a little different, but—

Cloud scrabbled at his clothes looking for a Restore materia. His clothing was bright orange instead of the purple or his leathers. _What the hell?_ His Fusion Swords were missing too. Battle still sounded in the distance: shouting and explosions and planet knew what. _How did I get here? Where is here?_

"Yes. He is dead," Cloud heard a light voice say. It was hard to tell whether it was male or female, and Cloud glared up with hatred in his eyes.

"You killed him," Cloud snarled, voice low. They were wearing a white mask with red swirls, their hair done up in traditional Wutaian style. The clothes they wore were dark in color and nondescript, but they were also styled Wutaian. He had the same needles fanned out in his hands, just ready for another barrage. _Senbon_ , Cloud believed they called them. It didn't matter.

Around the androgynous figure, a set of what looked like mirrors hung in the air from every angle. It was bitterly cold. Mist came from them as if it they were made of ice, and they dripped water. Some of them were cracked.

"Where did that vile chakra go?" the masked person asked.

Even though he had no idea what they were talking about, Cloud said, "I'm not about to tell you." He had to have some kind of weapon. He patted himself down and dug at a pouch in his waist. He pulled out a sharp, triangular-shaped knife with a loop at the end and hefted it a bit, checking its weight.

It would do. He rushed at the figure, who caught his wrist. Cloud broke his hold easily and followed it up with a kick. The figure crossed their arms with a block, and Cloud heard something snap.

"You broke my arm," the figure said, shocked. Cloud's kick had bent their right arm at an unnatural angle, the radius and ulna fragmented.

Cloud just scowled. That should have taken him out. This body must not be as enhanced as his old one, either. And judging by the size of Cloud's body and his voice, he was a whole hell of a lot younger. He moved, standing protectively over Zack. "That's not all I'm going to do."

He didn't know what kind of sick twisted joke this was, but Cloud wasn't going to have it. He leapt at the figure again, clashing knives. As he moved, he was figuring out how his body worked, and he became faster.

They clashed again and again, the figure using some kind of ice materia to throw spikes at him. They must have run out of senbon at some point. The sound of crackling lightning and then the masked figure said, "I can't die here!" and tried to run away with enhanced speed.

Cloud didn't let him, matching his speed easily. Before he'd made it ten paces down what Cloud had realized was a half-finished bridge, he'd caught him and driven the knife straight through his carotid artery. The figure bled out in moments, the arterial spray splattering all over him and covering his face, hair, and clothing with blood.

It took about a minute for the mist to dissipate. Cloud looked around. He hadn't been the only one fighting on the bridge. There was another man with a mask covering the lower half of his face and spiky silver hair that could give his own hair a run for its money standing in front of a corpse, blood covering his right arm from his fingers to his elbow. He wore a plate of metal on his head with a stylized leaf on it.

There was a little girl with pale pink hair standing in front of an old man wearing a Wutaian _sugegasa_. She was staring at him and Zack both with calculating green eyes. She also wore a leaf headband.

Cloud dropped his knife. The hair color was different, yes, but the face—the _face_ —she looked just like Aerith. Cloud fell to his knees, feeling suddenly lightheaded. Children that looked just like Zack and Aerith; was he dead? He looked down at his hands, smaller than he was used to with calluses all in the wrong places. Everything felt too real. The blood had felt warm. It had not been a nice way to die.

The pink-haired girl shot a look at the old man before she took his hand and started running towards them both, shooting him a concerned look before making her way to Zack's corpse. Cloud got up and followed her the ten or so feet. A little bit before they got to where Zack lay, she said, "Tazuna-san, wait here." The old man nodded, and stayed put as they walked the rest of the way. He looked at Cloud with something a little like fear. Cloud noted it, but he really didn't pay attention to it. It wouldn't be the first time he'd gotten looks like that.

She was chewing on her bottom lip, feeling his pulse to check his vital signs. She held her hand over his mouth and nose. She shook her head and wet her hand and tried again. Something in her loosened and she went slack, a wide smile covering her face.

"He's not dead," she said. She went to work on the needles in his neck, pulling them out and placing them gently to the side. Then she clasped her hands together, closing her eyes. Cloud could tell by the green aura she was giving off she was close to her limit. Then it broke and a wave of healing energy washed out of her, covering all of them with a feeling like a warm hug. Zack groaned and rolled over, but he remained unconscious. She stood to her feet and dusted off her hands.

"Aerith? Is that...you?" Cloud asked hesitantly, voice wondrous.

"Yeah," she said, smile wide. "It's me." Her green eyes glittered. She tilted her head, "Cloud?"

" _Aerith_ ," Cloud said, enveloping her in a hug, voice absolutely broken. He was getting blood all over her but she didn't seem to mind. "I'm _so_ sorry," he said, sorrow emanating from his voice.

Her grin shrank, leaving her with a small, close-lipped smile. "Now what have I told you, silly?" she asked him, pulling back so she could look him in the face, searching his eyes. "I never blamed you. Not even once."

"But Aerith," Cloud said, ready to argue.

She shook her head. "It's Sakura now, Naruto," Aerith said pointedly, stressing the strange names, glancing over at the old man and the silver-haired man that was coming this way. It took him a moment to realize that Wutian word was his name. In fact, this whole place reeked of Wutai. Though he'd never heard _narutomaki_ being used as a name before. He sighed. It was like Cloud all over again. "Don't worry. It'll settle in a bit, and things will start to make sense."

"Sakura. That's pretty," Cloud said. Then a thought occurred to him. "That better not be Sephiroth," Cloud said darkly, glancing over at the man. Aerith laughed, her voice as light and clear as a bell.

"That's our sensei, Kakashi," she said. "And Zack is called Sasuke." She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. "We're ninja!"

Cloud looked up at the sky. "Sasuke, huh? Hmmm."

"Naruto," Cloud heard an unfamiliar voice say. He turned back. Kakashi was standing behind him, a look of concern on what Cloud could see of his face. "Are you okay?"

Everything was suddenly too loud. "What, Kakashi-sensei?" Cloud snapped, barely managing to remember to tack on the honorific.

"That was your first kill. Are you all right?" Cloud looked down at his hands again, covered in blood. He jumped, realizing he'd likely have gotten blood all over Aerith. Yeah. Definitely not his first kill. But if they were ninja, and what with Zack and Aerith being alive and them being in this strange place he couldn't remember—He looked over at them, and then back to his "teacher."

"No," he said honestly. Then he looked out over the water, putting his hands behind his head because it felt comfortable and natural. "But I will be."

Movement had them both turning their head. "Man, that sucked," Zack said groaning, sitting up and spitting out a gob of blood. He rested one arm over a raised knee before looking out at the bridge. "What the hell?"

"Sasuke!" Aerith squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He stood there blankly, arms at his side.

"Wha—Huh?" Zack began. Aerith squeezed tighter, though any keen observer could see that she was whispering something in his ear. "Aeri—Sakura?" he said, awe filling his voice.

She nodded. "Mhmm! You finally made back to me." She knocked him on the head. "Took you long enough."

And then Zack was hugging her like he would never let her go again. The corner of Cloud's mouth quirked up. Zack spun her around and then saw him. "Cloudy with a chance of rain!" he yelled across the bridge, gesturing vigorously with a "come here" motion.

So Cloud did. Zack let go of Aerith and gave him a noogie, at which point Cloud slapped his arm off. Cloud did let him keep one arm around his neck, though, and Zack had his other arm slung around Aerith's waist and they just stood there, basking in each other's presence.

"So, Naruto, huh?" Zack said, grinning widely. "We made it!"

"Yeah, Sasuke," Cloud said. He noticed that Kakashi was staring at them. He couldn't place the myriad of emotions flickering across the man, not without seeing his whole face, but concern, confusion, and relief were in there. "We did. We're alive," he said with no small amount of relief.

The sound of a large group of people approaching dampened their reunion. All of them turned almost as one as about three hundred mercenaries showed up, led by a short man in a black suit.

"Well, this looks familiar," Zack said, laughing ruefully. "I knew it was too good to be true. You and me against an army again, eh Clou—I mean Naruto?"

"Aa, Sasuke. Something like that, anyway," Cloud said.

"But I'm here this time," said Aerith. "Don't you know that makes all the difference?" She giggled.

"As am I," Kakashi said, shooting them another strange look.

"We'll make it through. You'll see!" Aerith said brightly. "You all right, Tazuna-san?"

The old man looked a little taken aback at being spoken to. He waved them off with a careless hand. "Yeah. You kids do what you have to do."

The man and his mercenaries stopped just short of the battlefield. "So you Konoha ninja actually managed to kill the Demon of the Mist, huh?" The suited man kicked the corpse of the man Kakashi had been fighting. "Good thing I wasn't planning on paying him. Gato thanks you."

"Hey," Zack said, bristling, his hands clenched into fists. "Don't you think that's a little uncool? He's already dead, man. Leave him alone."

The short man in a black suit laughed. "And you got the little bastard of an apprentice, too." He kicked off the mask, showing a young face. Gato snorted loudly, hocking up a wad of snot and spit all over the head. "That little shit nearly broke my arm."

"Way uncool!" Zack said. He tensed, preparing to go after him, but Cloud grabbed his arm and shook his head.

"Wait," he said. But even he thought it was a little excessive.

"You may be ninja," Gato said, "but I've still got numbers on my side."

The phrasing made a bomb go off in Cloud's head. A rush of memories hit him: " _I'll bring it back on you a thousand fold!_ "

Cloud's mouth twitched. "Numbers on your side? I don't think so. Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Countless copies of Cloud filled the half-finished bridge, taking up almost every inch of space. Huh.

"Uh, Boss," said one of the mercenaries, a quiver of fear in his voice. "I don't think we can take them."

"They're just ninja. It's a useless bluff." Gato said, stomping his foot like a child. How sad.

"Bluff? I don't think so," Zack said, dashing forward and picking up the massive blade Kakashi's opponent left behind. He had a little trouble lifting it, but he appeared to find the trick to using his enhancements just like Cloud did. Zack swung it around a little bit, checking the weight and balance. He appeared to find something he liked. He whooped and lifted the sword, charging at the mercenaries and slashing wildly. It was funny-looking. The sword was taller than he was.

Cloud followed him; he may have preferred his Fusion Swords, but Tifa had taught him some hand-to-hand, and he was no slouch. Not to untrained mercenaries. And apparently, he had an army of himself to back himself up.

 _Today has been a weird day,_ he mused as he attacked the mercenaries en-masse. The first time one of his doppelgangers popped, he found himself staggering with the memories of a perspective ten feet in front. Memory transference. Useful. A mercenary almost gutted him with a sword before he got back to the battle. _Sloppy though, if you aren't expecting it_. And wasn't he the king of memory issues? Hell, last thing he remembered was going to bed as an old man.

Kakashi was still bleeding all over the place, clearly exhausted, but he got in on the action too while Aerith stayed behind to guard Tazuna.

And suddenly, the mercenaries started turning tail and fleeing. Cloud searched the melee for any hint of the disturbance and saw a little boy with a crossbow leading a whole horde of ragged-looking villagers to the bridge.

"Whew," Zack said, wiping some sweat and blood off his brow. "That was some fight, huh?" The oddly-shaped broadsword he had was covered in blood. He swept it out to get the blood off it and twirled it in his usual victory pose, putting the blunt end on his shoulders. "Shouldn't have any more problems with them, Tazuna-san. If you do, just call me, alright?" He held up two fingers in a peace sign and grinned.

Aerith stretched, smiling as well. "We did it!" she said, putting her fist in the air.

Cloud dispelled his clones and said quietly with a small smile, "Yeah. We did."

Kakashi just stared.

* * *

 **Inspired by Eradicating's _Headbangers_ , story ID 9165416. Ended up surprisingly more serious, though that wasn't intentional. I'm doing this to get away from my more plotty fics, and just for fun, so I really don't know what to tell you to expect. Other FFVII characters to show up, certainly. Fast updates, probably not.**


	2. In Which Kakashi Broods

Hatake Kakashi perched on the roof of Tazuna's home, keeping an outward eye on the perimeter while his inward self grappled with a problem. He'd been a shinobi so long it was practically rote by now; he could keep an appropriate amount of attention while his thoughts were somewhere else, and they weren't expecting any nin-level resistance after the fall of Gato's empire.

No, his mind was on his students.

Three weeks ago, he would have said that Team Seven was a ticking time bomb. They had little to no teamwork, each one cared only for themselves (He didn't count Sakura's obsession over Sasuke), and were the most dysfunctional team he'd ever seen. Sasuke was arrogant, Naruto acted like an idiot, and Sakura just plain didn't care.

One big headache after another. He'd tried instilling teamwork but it hadn't helped. He regretted ever passing them, even, no matter the responsibilities he had towards his old team. It had been luck they'd passed at all. He didn't think them clever enough for such a calculated attempt to pass, but then again, they hadn't really come together again after that first day.

A day ago, he would have said the same. But then the mist cleared on the bridge, when he'd seen Sasuke motionless and Naruto drenched in blood, standing next to Sasuke's weapon-ridden body, looking so lost; his heart had leapt into his throat. Shinobi lost comrades, he'd been losing people since he was four, and that was the way of things. But he wasn't ready to lose Minato's son or Obito's family. Not yet. Then Naruto had fallen to his knees, staring at his hands, looking at the blood dripping from them, and Kakashi knew he'd killed. The acrid burn of Kyuubi's chakra still lingered in the air.

Sakura had run to Sasuke, but instead of crying or breaking down as he had thought she was going to do, she'd pulled out the senbon, clasped her hands together, and done _something._ A wave of healing energy had come out of her, stretching just far enough to heal Kakashi too. Not fully, but the touch of it was like coming up for air after near drowning. It felt peaceful, and it didn't feel like any chakra he knew. It wasn't unheard of for a kekkei genkai to spontaneously activate after some kind of death battle; that's how the Sharingan awakened after all. But the Haruno family didn't have a history or even a tie to the bloodline families.

And then Sakura and Naruto had hugged. At that point, Kakashi had been wondering whether or not he had entered some insane parallel universe because if there was one thing he knew about the dynamics of Team Seven, it was Sakura hated Naruto as much as Naruto liked her. Naruto initiating the hug wasn't a big deal, that was in character. But Sakura had _hugged back_ like it was something she did every day instead of pummeling him into the ground.

It made a sort of sense: a first kill had a way of changing people, and Naruto had looked devastated. It wasn't that far of a stretch. Life-or-death situations formed the strangest bonds, and maybe Sakura was just finally taking her responsibility as a teammate seriously. Kakashi could understand that.

But that's when it took a turn towards the utterly bizarre. Kakashi had his suspicions about the senbon in Sasuke's neck, and he was relieved he was right. But Sasuke had woken up from "death" none-the-worse, with an exuberant personality _that did not make any sense._ Naruto was taciturn, pensive, but that was understandable given he had just killed. Sasuke was now charismatic, friendly, affectionate, and had to have an arm or hand touching his team at all times. The complete opposite of the way he'd been before. Arrogant and standoffish, despising human contact, petulant, and filled with nothing but thoughts of revenge.

Even more surprising was how Sasuke had hugged Sakura, not the way around. Sakura didn't even squeal too loudly or blush or do any of her usual fannish behavior. Then he'd called over Naruto with a nickname Kakashi had never heard before, and it wasn't an insult, and Sasuke had bristled like a wet cat over Gato disrespecting the bodies of their enemies. That would be something he expected from Naruto, not Sasuke.

Also of note was the way Team Seven had looked at him when he sealed the missing-nin bodies away.

In a way, it fit. Maybe Sasuke finally figured out his attitude didn't tend to last in the shinobi world, not without a lot of pain. Kakashi had learned that the hard way because of Obito's death. ANBU had educated him even further. A near death experience had a way of waking you up. It was a bit more of a stretch, but still not out of the realm of possibility: by all accounts, Sasuke had been an extroverted child. He had a bit of a brother complex but was well-adjusted otherwise.

They were who they said they were, Kakashi knew that much. Between the ninken and the fact that no one with any skills at infiltration would make that drastic of a personality change and the fact their chakra felt the same, logically, they had to be. Nothing else made sense. Still, Kakashi couldn't help but feel something was off with his students.

Nothing explained Sasuke's new obsession with Zabuza's sword, the Kubikiribōchō, though. Or how he could even lift the thing. Using chakra to consciously enhance muscles was a chuunin skill. He'd even caught Naruto sending a few envious glances Sasuke's way. What. Kids and their obsessions with swords. He shook his head.

He felt like hitting his head against the wall. Repeatedly. Kakashi could try to explain it away all he wanted to, but none of this really made any sense, underneath the underneath.

A sharp spike of chakra. Kakashi grabbed a kunai and was halfway off the roof before he recognized the chakra as Sasuke's. It rolled off the young man in turbulent waves, raising the hair on the back of his neck. He made another Shadow Clone to watch the roof and switched between his clone inside with a Body Replacement. Sasuke curled up in on himself in the fetal position, shaking in his sleep. Tears leaked out of his eyes.

A night terror. They often came after a traumatic, stressful day. Kakashi laid down, keeping his eye cracked open just enough to see in the bright moonlight of Tazuna's spare room. He heard the door slide open, and light footsteps enter the room. It was Sakura, who'd felt the disturbance and come out of Tsunami's room.

Naruto was already awake and at Sasuke's bedside, his blue eyes almost seeming to glow in the dim light of the room. He held on to Sasuke's shoulder, shaking him gently.

Kakashi heard a loud thud, and he was mildly alarmed when Sasuke started thrashing violently in his sleep, bucking up from the futon and throwing his limbs out wildly.

"Naruto, grab his arms!" said Sakura. "Keep him from hurting himself!"

"Right," Naruto said, doing just that. But it appeared to make Sasuke struggle even harder. "Sakura, what's happening?" No -chan. In fact, all of his students had dropped their honorifics towards each other in a bizarre show of comradeship, save for addressing him as sensei, and even that was hit and miss.

"He's acclimatizing, and not taking it very well," Sakura said, adding her own weight to keep him from hurting himself.

"I don't understand," Naruto said. Kakashi didn't either. The only reason he hadn't helped already was because of his suspicions. They thought they were unsupervised. Kakashi was using this opportunity to see them unguarded. But acclimatizing? What did that mean?

"He's remembering," Sakura said. "Something bad."

"Hojo?" Naruto asked, voice strangely intense. Kakashi didn't think he'd ever heard that tone from Naruto before. It made him sound a lot like someone else he'd known.

Sakura shook her head. "He has those. Something here."

"It wasn't like that for me," Naruto said, almostly helplessly, holding down Sasuke's arm, looking at Sakura like she was his lifeline. Sasuke had stopped moving, staring up at the ceiling with dead eyes, his mouth slightly open like he was paralyzed.

"You've told me a little when we were comparing," Sakura said. "The loneliness, the Kyuubi." At that, Kakashi's eyebrows shot way up. "The hateful eyes," Sakura continued, oblivious to Kakashi's mini breakdown, the stunned look that crossed his face. When had Naruto told his teammate? When had he trusted her? How had he missed this? Sakura said it so _casually_. "That was sort of like yours, in a way. Not all of it, but enough. It was easy for me. I have both my parents. No labs," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I was lucky this time." Labs? Related to her maybe kekkei genkai? Perhaps Orochimaru…? Kakashi would have to look into this.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Naruto said.

"No, I don't," Sakura said. Right then, Sasuke closed his eyes and started thrashing again, throwing Naruto and Sakura off. Naruto hit the wall, his head busting through the wood, and Sakura went rolling. She leapt to her feet, then hovered in his vicinity, ducking under a wild punch to grab one of his arms.

Sasuke screamed a long, loud tortuous note. His chakra spiked again. Naruto scrambled back to Sasuke's side, shaking at him frantically. Blood ran from Naruto's head where he had hit the wall. Sasuke thrashed harder. "Why can't I ever save anyone! Itachi! An—" Sasuke slurred, sobbing. He started gnashing his teeth. Naruto stuck his hand in Sasuke's mouth to keep him from biting through his tongue, and Sasuke bit him down to the bone. Naruto winced, but said nothing.

"An—" for aniki? Kakashi couldn't just observe any more. He stood in one smooth move, but before could get to Sasuke, Sasuke's eyes flew open, the iris and pupil changed. It was the sharingan, but not one he'd ever seen. Gone were the _tomoe_. In its place was a black iris with a red six pointed star, spinning. He gasped and started choking; Naruto pulled his hand from Sasuke's mouth, his face grim.

Sasuke sat up, shivering in a cold sweat, his hair damp. Instead of tears, blood beaded down from the corner of his eyes. Then Sasuke blinked, and the iris was gone. Another level of the sharingan? Another thing Kakashi had to look into.

"Sasuke," Naruto said roughly. "You all right?"

"You know better than to ask that. He killed them. He killed them all." Sasuke wiped his tears away, rubbing the blood between his finger and thumb.

"Who killed them, Sasuke?" Sakura asked gently.

"Itachi. My brother. He killed my whole family. I was too young, I couldn't do anything, and then he killed them, just like that," Sasuke stood, his movements jerky and restless. He started doing squats. "He betrayed the village, became missing-nin. He was one of the elite and then he _deserted_ and now he wants me to kill him."

"Your brother?" Naruto said, voice strained.

"Yeah." Sasuke blew out a gush of air. He tilted his head. "Sound familiar? His last words were, 'Protect your honor, always,' did I ever tell you that?" Sasuke said. Up and down. The squats seemed to calm him.

"Yes," Sakura said at the same time Naruto said, "No." Kakashi frowned. That really didn't sound like the Uchiha Itachi he remembered.

"Ninja don't have honor," Sasuke said. "He wants me to kill him, just like—" his eyes flickered over to Kakashi. "Remember when we first met, Naruto? Where?"

"Yeah. I do."

Sasuke nodded. "Just like that."

"Oh," was all Naruto said. Kakashi was glad Naruto got it because he certainly didn't.

"Ninja may not have honor, but they have dreams, right?" Sakura said. "You remember that day? The first day we were Team Seven? Likes, dislikes, dreams? It seems so long ago, now. Especially since..." She trailed off. "We aren't the same people we were."

That was true. Death had changed the lot of them, some more than others. Naruto and Sasuke had almost completely switched personalities, while Sakura grew more mature. It was suspicious, but Kakashi almost couldn't blame them. He flexed his hand, remembering Obito's 'gift,' Rin's death. Kakashi had changed too, when that happened. He started showing up late, making excuses like Obito...It was how he'd coped. How he remembered. Maybe Naruto and Sasuke had needed something they saw in the other.

Sasuke stopped exercising, then flopped back down on the futon, kicking out his feet and leaning back on his hands. "Yeah. I remember." Naruto said nothing, but his bright blue eyes were on Sakura.

"Sometimes, the best way to find yourself again is by realizing what's important. I know I still have my dream," Sakura said, sitting down next to Sasuke in _seiza_. "Do you want to do it properly this time?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke said, doing a fist pump. Naruto nodded. He went and sat cross-legged on the other side of Sasuke.

Sakura turned to him. "Kakashi-sensei?" She said, clasping her hands, her shimmering green eyes bright.

"Maaaa," Kakashi began. Sakura just stared at him, her face so innocent and pleading he just had to say something. "Okay," he found himself saying before he realized it. Kakashi blinked, and then discreetly checked for genjutsu.

She beamed, patting the ground in front of her. Kakashi sat. "I'll go first! Hello, everyone! My name is Haruno Sakura. I like flowers and my friends. I don't think I dislike much," she tilted her head, thinking. "Maybe people taking blame that isn't theirs? And I've always been a little afraid of the sky. It's just so big!"

Naruto winced and looked away. Interesting. He wasn't sure why, but he noted the reaction in his growing dossier of Team Seven Weirdness.

"As for dreams of the future...I think I'd like to see the world," she looked over at Naruto, "Fall in love," she glanced over to Sasuke, who grinned. Inwardly, Kakashi felt something in him loosen. Finally, something was a little back to normal. Sasuke being receptive of it was a different story, and seeing him grin like that was downright creepy. Kakashi suppressed a shudder. "I want to open a flower shop and have flowers growing everywhere. I've always liked daffodils," she said wistfully.

"Konoha full of flowers, wallet full of money?" Sasuke asked. Okay, now Kakashi had definitely missed something.

"Yeah!" Sakura said. "My hobbies are probably gardening and just being with my friends. Naruto?"

"I'm uh, Uzumaki Naruto. I like training, I guess." He scratched the back of his head. "Swords too. I don't like people who play with others' lives." He waved his arm. "Lots of other stuff. My dreams are actually pretty close to coming true, right now. I want to forgive and be forgiven." With that he cracked a smile at his team, a fairly big one, the first Kakashi had seen since yesterday when he'd killed Zabuza's apprentice. That was kind of sad, if you thought about it too much. Then he looked over at Kakashi. "Oh, and to be Hokage. Hobbies? I don't know. Training?" Forgiven for what? And no mention of ramen?

"Yeah! My turn!" Sasuke yelled. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke! I like tomatoes and Sakura and Naruto! I dislike the fact that some people think they're monsters so they try to get other people to kill them." Kakashi blinked. That was oddly specific.

"My dreams for the future...I think I still want to be a hero," Sasuke said. Kakashi jerked. Ever since yesterday, Sasuke was coming to resemble Obito more and more. Something was hurting in the vicinity of his chest. He hadn't wanted to think about it, but...

"You were," Naruto said quietly. "You saved me." And wasn't that a loaded statement. That was exactly the crux of the whole matter. Kakashi saw himself in Naruto now, and Obito in Sasuke, and that disturbed him more than anything. Naruto looked away. "Didn't turn out so well for you." Obito, either.

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke said, reaching out and squeezing Naruto's shoulder. "You're my friend." Sasuke nodded solemnly. "And I don't think I want to kill Itachi anymore. I want to find out why. Why he killed our family. Why he's trying to make me kill him." Sasuke looked down and clenched his fists. "He wanted me to be angry. He wanted me to hate him. He could have killed me at any time, but he left me alive." He set his jaw. "Well I'm not buying into it, man. No way! I'm going to save him!"

"You know that might not be possible?" Kakashi said.

Sasuke flinched, then shook his head. "I don't care. I'll save him anyway! After all, 'Impossible dreams are always the best kind,' right?" He laughed wildly, more a release of emotion than anything else.

Sakura grabbed one of Sasuke's hands while Naruto grabbed the other. "We'll do it together!" she said.

"Yeah. We're a team. You in, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said, shooting him a measured look that nearly took his breath away, it reminded him so much of Minato-sensei.

"Hmm," Kakashi said noncommittally. Internally, he was shocked. This kind of teamwork from them… "Three genin against an S-ranked missing-nin might have a little bit of trouble, especially if you want to capture him alive..." Kakashi trailed off, tapping his chin.

"C'mon, man, it's a little important to me, Kakashi. You going to help or not?" Sasuke said, crossing his arms.

Kakashi waited a bit longer, just to see what they would do. All three of them stared at him expectantly. Well, he was done being surprised. Kakashi had a new plan: just roll with it. "I can't let my team down," he said, shrugging.

Sasuke whooped and tackle-hugged him. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gave a more sedate bow, her hands clasped in front of her, and Naruto inclined his head. Kakashi pushed Sasuke off. This was going to take a lot of getting used to. It was almost like having Obito around again.

"Hey, don't forget you owe us," Sakura said.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei. Likes, dislikes?" Naruto said. "And be honest this time? We're a team now, right?"

Kakashi supposed they had a point. "Yo," he said, holding up two fingers and sweeping them to the right. "Hatake Kakashi. I like reading. I don't like sweets. My dream for the future?" he tilted his head to the side. "Probably not to lose another team. I'd be happy with that." Even with the personality switch, they were so much like the old Team Seven it hurt. Even if Sasuke and Naruto were friends now. Like he could have been with Obito had he just realized sooner...

"Another team?" Sakura said, her brow furrowing.

He could see the question forming, so he spoke before she could. "Another," Kakashi said with finality, shutting Sakura down. "So stay alive, yeah?" All three of his students nodded, but he noticed Naruto clench his jaw and look away. Hmm. He might have to talk to him later.

"As for hobbies? I have lots of hobbies," Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke groaned.

He waved. "Oh all right. Reading then."

"You already said that!" Sasuke said, pointing his finger at him.

"I like it enough to be a hobby!" he said brightly.

"Sasuke, he does have a point," Naruto said.

"You're just saying that because you did the same thing, Training-san," Sasuke grumbled.

Sakura giggled.

Kakashi faked a yawn. "All right you kids, I think that's enough excitement for tonight. You should probably get to bed. We have to wake up early for the return trip. Sakura, what are you doing?"

Sakura had grabbed Naruto's futon, placed it next to Sasuke's, and was in the process of retrieving another one from the hall and dragging it into the room. "What does it look like? I'm going to bed." She looked over at Sasuke, who looked sheepish. "I don't think Sasuke needs to be alone right now. Right, Naruto?" She shot the blond a pointed look that clearly meant 'You better back me up on this.'

"Uh, right," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Sasuke asked.

"No," Naruto and Sakura said simultaneously. "Sakura's scary when she's mad," Naruto added.

"That's right," Sakura said with a sharp nod. "I'm absolutely frightening. Isn't that right, Naruto-chan?"

"That sounds like there's a story there," Sasuke said.

"Just don't," Naruto said, flopping down next to Sasuke's futon.

"Oh! Sounds like Naruto doesn't want me to hear it. Sakura?" Sasuke asked. She shook her head. "Sakura? You can't just leave me hangin'" She shook her head again. "Aww, c'mon!"

"Sorry, Sasuke. I promised! Blackmail purposes only. Can't tell you yet."

"Yet?" Naruto said darkly, glaring at her.

Sasuke stared, gobsmacked. "What happened to innocent little Sakura?" Kakashi wondered what indeed.

Sakura hit him with a pillow. "Go to sleep, Sasuke." She placed her futon down next to his and turned off the light, sliding into it. Naruto turned away, his futon on the other side of Sasuke's, back to them both.

Kakashi took that time to lay down himself, replacing his Shadow Clone on the roof with another fresh one.

When he woke up the next morning, Sasuke was lying on his back and Naruto and Sakura were cuddled up to Sasuke's chest. Sasuke himself had his mouth open and was drooling, and his spiky hair was mussed and sticking straight out, like a little horned _oni_.

Kakashi wished he had a camera.

* * *

Cloud ruffled Inari's hair. "You're a strong kid. I'm not worried, leaving you behind to watch over things," he said as he dutifully ignored how the small child sniffled.

"Yeah, well I ain't going to miss you, either," the child said through his tears. The corner of Cloud's mouth turned up. It kind of made him miss Marlene and Denzel. Inari had that same kind of temperament. He just had to find it, that was all.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and they crossed the Great Naruto Bridge, Cloud shaking his head at the name. He really didn't think he'd done much to deserve it, but people were weird about those kinds of things. He'd learned that back in Edge.

The walk back was quiet. Cloud kept glancing at Zack, hoping he was all right. He was slouched forward, his hand in his pockets, his brother clearly on his mind. _Another way in which the universe is cruel, I guess_ , Cloud thought. After the initial memory onslaught, they were slowly merging with their reincarnated selves. Luckily, Aerith hadn't seemed affected all that much. Their previous incarnations were still dominant; Cloud didn't think he'd ever go around shouting or wearing bright orange again, though he might still pull pranks. That much of Zack was still in him, and it manifested in Zack with worry about his brother.

It was too cruel. What were the odds Uchiha Itachi was like Angeal Hewley, deserting a military and forcing Zack to go after him? He didn't quite remember all of it at first, but his memories before the mako poisoning were coming back bit by bit. But they were family. Sephiroth had just been a fellow SOLDIER when he'd burned Nibelheim. Angeal had been his mentor, but in the end, he still had his honor. How much worse would it be for it to be family?

What were the odds that he himself had a malevolent entity sealed inside his stomach who made JENOVA look like a newborn kitten? He let out a breath. The Kyuubi. Right. Zack and Aerith accepted him no problem, but he still couldn't believe that they were living and breathing in front of him. He had been the direct cause of both their deaths, and what were the chances of him getting reincarnated alongside them and ending up in the same village, much less the same squad?

He didn't know whether that was cruel or kind. What he did know was that he would protect them with his life. Nothing would happen to them this time.

He would make sure of it.

Cloud glanced back and saw Kakashi staring at him again, unabashed, worry in his eye. He'd been doing that since last night. He knew Cloud knew he was aware of it, too. He watched Zack too, but he couldn't do that for long; Zack would inevitably act like his enthusiastic self and Kakashi would flinch and look away.

Especially now, with Zack shaking off his mood and jabbering excitedly at Aerith about plans they were making when they got back to the village, Kakashi studiously ignored him. But the expression on his face was one of sadness and regret when he looked at Sasuke.

Cloud knew Kakashi was suspicious. Who wouldn't be? They were different now, weighted by another lifetime of memory and experience, and they couldn't hide that. So why try? But he seemed like a good man so far, and he clearly cared about his team enough to worry. In fact, from his memories of his sensei before, this was downright hovering.

And Tifa had laughingly called him a mama chocobo when it came to the kids? Kakashi also had the hair for it. He tilted his head to the side for a moment and thought about it, picturing a silver-plumed chocobo wearing a leaf headband over one eye and a mask over his beak like some kind of bandit, then shook his head.

Nah.


	3. In Which There is Barbeque

Aerith hummed quietly to herself. She was on her knees, planting flowers in her new garden. Her parents had been a bit bewildered at first at her request to do something with the little piece of land they had, but they had agreed soon enough, happy to see her taking interest in something other than the ninja arts. Her headband was tied around the top of her head, like usual.

She turned to her companion who was lying on the grass, hands behind their head, looking up at the clouds in the sky. "What do you think, Sasuke?" she asked, using his new name, mindful of their probable audience. She glanced at the window. Her parents weren't the kind to hover, but it was her first time bringing a boy home, and she had been rather...enthusiastic over him in the past. Then again, this was who they were now, and she should probably get used to it. She didn't want to, but it was nice, being around her boys again.

He held up a thumb. "Looks good!" he said, before flinging his arm back, sprawled out. The Kubikiribōchō lay next to him, and the hand landed on the hilt.

"I'm glad," she said, smiling at him, a little sad. Even now, Shin-Ra left scars. He never let the sword leave his sight. It was a far cry from the young SOLDIER she'd met. Still, even now he trusted there was good in people. She wiped her forehead with her hand. Her face darkened momentarily. One good deed didn't erase a lifetime of sin. Then she smoothed her expression, so Zack wouldn't see. A bit of dirt smeared with the sweat and turned into mud, leaving a dark streak on her forehead. She paid it no mind, instead looking at her work. The garden was shaping up with yellow and white daffodils and columbines planted here and there, alongside the path. Only a small dark patch of earth remained near the gate.

Aerith concentrated, curling her fingers deep into the loose dirt. She sent a tendril of her power in the rich loam, closing her eyes, breathing deep and in a steady rhythm. She sent it down to where the seeds and bulbs were planted, reaching out, caressing it, encouraging it to break out and take root, to reach out for the warm sun and touch the sky. Then ever so slowly, she felt it unfurl, reaching up. She fed them more of herself, and they grew rapidly, breaking through the earth and exploding into color.

When they were done, they turned to her, not the sun. She dusted her her hands on her shorts before standing up. She held out her hand to Zack, who took it gratefully and rose to his feet. "Shall we?" she asked.

He nodded, snapping the cleaver into the rough harness he'd made for it, and they started walking into town. Aerith tugged at her hair, pulled back in its usual high braid. She felt a little self-conscious, tugging at her ribbon. She hadn't worn it since she got her headband, and even now it felt a bit presumptuous since she and Ino still weren't friends. She hadn't really had anything else to wear though, and it didn't feel right leaving her hair loose.

Zack noticed her movement almost instantly. "I can get you a new one," he offered.

Aerith sighed. "I don't know if that would make things better or worse, honestly. It was a sign of our friendship."

"You and ribbons, huh?" he asked. "Strange what follows you."

"Ino gave this one to me," Aerith said softly, fingering it. "We were fighting over you. It was such a silly childish thing, but wearing it now feels too much like gloating."

He reached down and took her hand. "You're not the gloating type," Zack said. "You guys were always fighting over me, huh?" Zack mused. "I didn't get it then, and I don't understand it now. Friends are like," he gestured widely, sweeping out his hands, looking for a word. "You know?"

She nodded. "We were friends for _years_ ," she added. "And it ended just like that. Even though it was a silly infatuation before, now that I know it's a sure thing—" With that she ducked her head down, twirling a bit of her fringe. "I just don't know."

"So sure of that, are you?" Zack teased.

"You _died_ , Zack." She stopped walking, pulling away from him, linking her hands together behind her back and looking away from him up at the sky. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Trying to get to me. How can I be surer than that?"

Zack made a wounded noise behind her, but she plowed on, not sure what she was trying to say. "And I didn't know. And then along comes Cloud, and he acted so much like you, and I just," she started to tear up. "I didn't know," she said, huddling in, wrapping her arms around herself. "I never knew. I felt, but I wasn't _sure_."

Zack moved so he was facing her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You didn't know. You didn't know. Hey, it's alright, it's alright," he said, taking his hand and cupping her cheek. He used his thumb to wipe away her tears, pulling away to wipe the other side with the back of his hand. "I've got you."

She started crying in earnest. Zack pulled her to his chest, tucking her head under his chin. He held her for a long time as she cried herself out, muttering soothing nonsense. "Hey now, it's alright," he said, stroking her hair. "I've got you."

"You died," she whispered to his shoulder. "And it's my fault. You died trying to get to me. I wish I'd never sent those stupid letters."

"We've had this talk, remember? You said it yourself, Sakura. 'I don't like people taking blame that isn't theirs.' Bad things happen. It was no one's fault." He tilted his head to the side. "Except maybe Shin-Ra's." Zack hugged her tighter. "Want to tell me about it?" he asked. "I want to know about how you and Cloud became friends."

"You don't remember the Lifestream?" she asked, voice colored with surprise; he'd startled her out of her tears. "But you had such a strong will you were able to manifest!"

She felt him smile as he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Nah, not really? Am I supposed to?" He asked, eyes wide. "Is this one of your fiddly power things?" he said, wiggling his fingers at her face before finally tapping her on the nose.

She grinned, rubbing her eyes. "Yes! I'll tell you all about it. Later though," Aerith said, looking around. People were filling the streets as the markets started to open in the early morning, and while they had privacy before, they _were_ standing on a main thoroughfare, and well, Konohagakure was a ninja town. Never could tell who was listening. "For now, let's go shopping! I want a staff again!"

Aerith grabbed his hand and Zack took it gladly, smiling at her. They ran down the street laughing, Zack leading, and darted into Kurogane _'s_ , one of the weapon shops he liked to frequent.

"Ugh," Shikamaru said to himself, having caught the tail end of the hug and the nose boop and Sakura grabbing Sasuke's hand and the dash to the weapon shop. "This is going to be so troublesome," he said, thinking of Ino, or more importantly, Ino's falcon-like screech.

Team Seven hadn't been in town long, but there were already rumors spreading about their mission to Wave and about the shinobi themselves. They'd changed. Shikamaru didn't pay them any mind usually, unless he was forced to listen by Ino, and it was a rare day he pre-empted her in gossip. If she didn't know about this already, he wasn't going to tell her. That way, he still might get some peace today.

All he had wanted to do today was hang out with Chouji and watch clouds, but, nooo, Ino had to invite them to a team lunch. Still, Shikamaru watched the door of Kurogane _'s_ for a long moment. Something bothered him, and it was more than Sasuke's smile (which was downright unsettling). People-watching wasn't as fun as cloud watching, but it was a good skill for a shinobi to learn, a good way to practice deciphering body language and how people interacted with one another. The way Sakura and Sasuke orbited around each other now, compared to how they interacted in the Academy? Night and day.

It spoke of a long friendship and mutual love, not a one-sided infatuation. They were just so at ease with each other. No hesitation at all. Each knew what the other was okay with. Not like it would be if it were a new thing. And Sasuke comforting her while she was crying? Sakura letting herself be unattractive in front of the Uchiha with snot dripping down and red-rimmed eyes? And had that been mud on her forehead?

It's like they were different people.

"What a total drag," Shikamaru said aloud, sighing. Now _he_ was curious. Great.

* * *

Aerith and Zack met Cloud at Yakiniku Q, where they were seated immediately at their usual table. It was one of the few places Cloud didn't have to worry about dirty looks. Zack immediately threw some food on the grill in the center of the table, while Aerith gushed about her new purchase.

"Look at my staff, Naruto! Isn't it pretty?" Aerith asked, pulling it from her back and laying it across the edge of the table. "Sasuke has good taste!" Zack reached over to flip some meat on the grill.

"Bōjutsu?" Cloud asked. That was right. Bōjutsu wasn't a common practice in Hi no Kuni. The only person Aerith could think of off the top of her head that practiced it was the Third Hokage. There was a girl a year or so ahead of them in the Academy that studied a little, but she studied a little of everything when it came to weapons.

"Yeah!" Zack said, pumping his fist into the air. "She kicks ass. Kicked my ass right out of the training ground. Her staff is awesome!"

"Oh?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah! It's made out of chakra conductive reinforced Mokuton wood. Hard as steel," Zack said, rapping it with his knuckles. "Cost me an arm and leg, but with the A-rank pay coming in from Wave, I can afford it. Sakura's definitely worth it."

It was pretty, Aerith thought and Zack _could_ afford it. He didn't hesitate to spend it on her, and it was impolite to refuse a gift more than twice anyway, no matter how expensive it was. It had been a plain dark rod when they'd bought it, but she had fed it with her power, and pretty soon it was covered with an intricate pattern of vines and bright pink cherry blossoms. It channeled chakra too, and she could use that to grow or shrink the wood. That was the thing about Mokuton: it was still living even without roots. It would just go inert without chakra.

"Damn," Cloud muttered. "Nice, Can't wait to spar with you, Sakura." He looked her over, paying close attention to her forehead. "You realize you've got a streak of mud there?" He flicked it.

Aerith smiled. "Yeah, I know," she said, waving him away.

Cloud addressed them both. "Found anything for me yet?"

Zack shook his head. "We were really lucky to find Princess," he said, patting the massive blade next to him that had a seat of its own.

"Princess?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, just thought of it. Sounds so much better than Executioner's Blade, don't you think?"

Cloud shrugged. "I guess. But I do need something, sooner rather than later. It figures Sasuke would have good taste in long, hard objects," Cloud said, face deadpan. Only the truly observant, like Aerith, could catch the small quirk of his lip that meant he was teasing.

"Hey now, you can't say anything! It's twice now we've slept together that you've turned into an unrepentant cuddle-monster." Zack said accusingly, pointing at Cloud with his chopsticks. Cloud just stared at him blankly. "I'm seriously scared for my virtue."

Aerith snorted into her plate. "What virtue?" she said. Zack pouted at her.

Ino's head snapped up from the corner table of Yakiniku Q where she was waiting for Shikamaru and Chouji. _Wait, What?_

Cloud let out a sigh, "Sasuke, I—"

Zack ruffled Cloud's hair. "Don't be embarrassed, man. I think it's cute."

"It was, you know," Aerith said, nodding solemnly. "You make a cute couple, Naru-chan."

 _Oh my God! What is Sakura on?_ Ino wondered as she choked on her water. Weren't she and Ino supposed to be fighting over Sasuke? And she was giving up to _Naruto_ so easily?

Cloud slapped at Zack's hand, sputtering at Aerith's accusation. "Would you stop doing that?"

"Nope," Zack said cheerfully, big grin stretched across his face, "I don't think I will." He tapped his jaw. "You still look like a ruffled chocobo."

Ino shook her head, rubbed her eyes, then looked again. Nope, Sasuke was still grinning widely. Sasuke had ruffled Naruto's hair. The smile made him look more handsome, though for some reason, it was a little creepy. Sasuke's face didn't seem like it was supposed to work that way. And he was being cheerful. And teasing and joking. _What_!?

"Sasuke," Cloud said, drawing out the syllables of his name as Sasuke slung an arm around his neck and gave him a one-armed hug.

"Did you just whine?" Zack asked, bewildered, while Aerith just ate some of the barbeque.

"Sasuke," Cloud said again, this time in more of a warning tone. He didn't move to push him off, though.

Ino boggled. They _were_ sitting quite intimately, especially for teammates that supposedly hated one another, while Sakura sat a little to the side.

"You really like saying my name, don't you?" Zack mused. "Sakura will get jealous," he sing-songed. "Oh Sasuke, Oh Sasuke," he said with a breathy moan, wiggling his eyebrows and rubbing his face against Cloud's shoulder. Cloud pushed him off, and Zack fell to the floor.

Ino just sat, stunned. She gathered her wits, formed a hand seal, and pulsed her chakra. The scene didn't change.

"Who said we couldn't share, Sasuke?" Aerith said, primly sipping her tea, then throwing more meat on the table grill. "Jealousy is overrated." If Zack and Cloud didn't want to eat, that was their problem.

Zack's jaw dropped.

So did Ino's.

"I hate you both," Cloud said, crossing his arms, pale pink dusting his whiskered cheeks. Huh. Aerith didn't think Cloud still had a blush response, after everything he'd been through. Sometimes it was nice to be wrong.

Zack recovered quickly, getting up and ruffling Cloud's hair again, before clinging to his arm like Aerith and Ino used to do. "Aww look, Sakura, he said he loves us!" Cloud pushed him away again.

Aerith rolled her eyes. She knew what he was trying to do. Zack was attempting to cheer her up at Cloud's expense. It was working, too. This was so like him, even though she knew his family was still on his mind.

She and Zack shared a significant look, and then almost as one, they latched on to Cloud's arms.

"Naruto-kun!" they chorused.

Cloud just grunted. "Hn. Fangirls," he said, in a perfect imitation of Zack before his awakening.

Zack released him, standing up, indignant, hands on his hips. "I'll have you know I'm not a fangirl. I'm a very manly man."

"Fanboy then," Cloud said, using his now free hand to snag a bit of barbeque. "Fanperson."

Aerith tugged at Zack's sleeve. "You do realize you're around twelve, right?"

Zack mumbled something under his breath, but Aerith let it go. "The point stands, you know. I'm a very manly boy." Aerith couldn't help herself. She laughed.

"The manliest!" she said, toasting him with the dregs of her tea.

"Shikamaru, Chouji!" Ino whispered. "What took you so long?"

"Nothing in particular," Shikamaru said. "Why?"

"Look!" Ino said, gesturing wildly at a table about ten feet away. "Sakura! It's just ugh!"

"I knew this was going to be trouble," Shikamaru groaned. Sure enough, Sasuke was gesturing animatedly while Naruto pulled the quiet and brooding look, every now and again interjecting a comment before lapsing back into silence. Sakura too, confirmed his earlier opinion by not doing anything that could be perceived as flirting. She just sat there calmly, focusing on her meal with—wait a minute, was that staff what they had been in Kurogane's for? The vine and flowers on it were real, and while Shikamaru was no sensor, he would bet it was Mokuton, simply by the color of the base staff and the live flora. She'd shortened it and placed it on her back. Sasuke still had that massive sword.

So much for a quiet lunch.

"I don't get it," Chouji said, crunching on a bag of chips. "They look like they're having fun and being a team."

" _Exactly_ ," Ino said. "They don't get along. Like at all. Hinata told me. Haven't you seen Team Seven at all since they've been back?" Ino said. "Look at them! Since when is Naruto the quiet brooding one and Sasuke the loudmouth? Since when does Sasuke even eat with forehead girl—Oh," Ino said the last part quietly, stopping in the middle of her tirade.

"What is it now, Ino?" Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. It's not like he wasn't curious either, but Ino was getting really riled up. Just like he feared.

"Her hair. It's up and braided. And she's using my ribbon," Ino said blankly.

"Your ribbon?" Chouji asked, curious.

"I didn't tell you, 'cause it's not like you care, but I gave her that ribbon. She stopped wearing it. Now she's wearing it again. Like she just doesn't care. About our rivalry or anything. She can't have won. Not without telling me, right? Right?" Ino said, turning to Shikamaru.

"Or maybe she just needed a ribbon?" Shikamaru offered.

Ino made a noise of frustration, slammed her hands on the table, and stalked out of Yakiniku Q.

"I don't get it," Chouji said again

"Me either," Shikamaru said.

"Girls!" they said in unison.

* * *

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said as he walked into the training grounds.

Kakashi nodded his head. "Sakura." He watched as she moved through another kata with her bō, her movements smooth and practiced. Naruto sneaked up behind her, but she hit him hard in the chest, and he disappeared into a puff of smoke. When she finished, he said, "I didn't realize you had staff training."

Sakura inclined her head. Kakashi wondered if she realized she had a wide streak of mud on her forehead. "Yeah, in another lifetime," she grinned.

It rang of truth for some reason, so he moved on, adding it to his mental list. "It looks like a solid weapon." Ornately decorated, though. And he'd been around Tenzou enough to recognize the wood release when he saw it. He kept his thoughts about Sakura in the back of his mind. Was healing a part of mokuton? He couldn't remember. "Where are Sasuke and Naruto?"

"Oh, they're here and there. Literally. I think Naruto's practicing with his shadow clones while Sasuke's fighting his clones with Princess," Sakura said, taking a big gulp of water from her canteen. "Naruto ambushes me now and then. I'm sure he's doing the same to Sasuke."

"Princess?" Kakashi wondered. "Dare I even ask?"

Sakura shook her head. "I wouldn't. You will anyway, though."

"You're right," Kakashi admitted.

"I'll spare you. It's the former Kubikiribōchō," she said.

"I see," said Kakashi, though he really didn't. "Princess? Really?"

Sakura shrugged. "Sasuke said it was too long of a name, and not elegant enough for such a pretty lady? Something like that, anyway," Kakashi blinked. He really had to get used to this. It hadn't gotten any easier with time.

Finished with her water, and pocketing her canteen, she turned to him. "So Kakashi-sensei, do we have a mission today?" Sakura clenched her fingers into a fist, like she was looking for some action. "I thought today was our day off."

"No, I actually need to go talk to the Hokage, actually. I just came by to check on the progress of my dear little students," Kakashi said, shrugging.

"No need to lay it on that thick, sensei." Sakura said, crossing her arms. "I'm sure you're getting lost on the road of life right now, or going the long way around to avoid a black cat, right?"

Well, he had been on the way to the Memorial Stone. But he wouldn't let her know that. "Aa. Something like that," he scratched the back of his head. When had he gotten so predictable?

Before he could form a response, Kakashi felt a spike of chakra and he and Sakura leapt to the side as a crevasse formed where they were standing, followed by a yell and the thud of metal hitting the ground. Naruto stood, his hands on 'Princess' at the head of it.

"Whoohoo! Go Cloud!" Sasuke yelled, running into the clearing. He had scratches all over his skin and was filthy with mud and blood covering him. "'Braver' right?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, wiping sweat from his face. "But it wasn't supposed to do that." Naruto looked bewildered. It was a face Kakashi was used to seeing from Naruto, but he hadn't seen it in a long time.

"That crack is what, a quarter mile?" Sasuke guessed.

"What were you trying to do?" Kakashi asked, curious despite himself.

"We have to enhance our muscles with chakra in order to lift it. The next logical step is to channel chakra through the weapon to increase the damage or area of effect," Naruto said, "which I did."

Kakashi put his face in the palm of his hand. "No. That is not the next logical step. Naruto, do you even know if the metal is chakra conductive?" He thought Naruto was getting better. But he was still a reckless idiot.

Naruto was the one to blink. "What does that matter? That just makes it easier. It heals itself. Does that count?"

"The sword heals itself?"

"Yeah, see that long scratch?" Naruto sliced his palm wide open on the blade, and sure enough, the blood dissipated while the sword reformed. It healed itself almost as fast as Naruto did.

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up, a rare show of annoyance. "With blood. Of course it does. Just as a test, Kakashi touched the sword and sent a little chakra into it where it immediately rebounded and would have given him a burn, if not for his gloves. "Look, Naruto, I don't even understand why it's not shrapnel right now. Your chakra control is terrible."

Naruto shot him a glare, like he was asking him what the big deal was. Sakura piped up, "It's like channeling materia without a bracer. It can overwhelm the material and melt or explode. It's supposed to be impossible."

"I never had a problem with it," Naruto said. "Not once I learned."

Kakashi couldn't believe it. "Show me," he said.

Naruto did, pulsing his chakra into the blade. He channeled it in slowly, matching the chakra of the blade like it was nothing, before converting the natural chakra of the blade to his own chakra, which Kakashi highly suspected was wind, considering the furrow in the ground. It took him about five minutes before the blade erupted with a blue halo of visible chakra.

"Uh, guys? I think you should step back. Just in case," Sasuke said nervously. "It kind of got out of hand earlier." Not being stupid, the other members of Team Seven stepped back.

Naruto raised Princess high with one hand over his shoulder, then swung horizontally in an arc. The chakra left the sword at blinding speed, and cut down a tree that was about twelve feet in diameter like it was nothing, stopping only when it sliced a boulder behind it almost in two.

"Unbelievable," Kakashi murmured, stunned.


	4. In Which There is Angst and a Swordfight

"Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Zack begged. "Brother, please. There's still time to stop!" Itachi paid him no mind, pulling his _chokutō_ from their mother's stomach. Zack made an aborted attempt to step forward and grab her falling body, but slipped in the blood of his father, hands twitching at the helplessness of it all. His mother fell to the the floor in a slump like so much garbage. "You're not the monster they say you are! Don't prove them right! Please, Itachi! Big bro, please!"

Itachi turned away, sweeping his sword out to the side to fling the excess blood from his blade. He showed his back to Zack, looking at the wall, confident that no attack would be forthcoming. "Hn. Monsters us all, foolish little brother." Itachi turned his head back towards Zack, looking down at him out of the corner of blood-red eyes, and it froze Zack in place—by fear, anger, hurt; he didn't know.

Faster than his eyes could catch, Itachi took his sword and ran him through, twisting the sword so it tore painfully at his gut. Zack jerked, grabbing at the blade of the sword with his bare hands, slicing his hands down to the bone in the attempt to pull the sword out of himself.

Then inexplicably, Itachi's slender form rippled into one that was muscular and broad, and he could feel the sword grow longer and curve, cutting deeper, lifting him from the ground. He recognized the Wutaian hilt. The Masamune.

Zack looked up, wide-eyed, expecting to see silver hair, but it was black instead. He coughed, and blood splattered on a familiar face with one outspread wing, another smaller one underneath hanging limp. White feathers drifted down all around him, like some sick _hanami,_ only with feathers instead of cherry blossoms. The wing stretched out, curving itself around him in a sick pantomime of protectiveness.

Angeal shook his head and gave a deep sigh. "You made me a promise, Zack. Can't you see the suffering all around you?"

Aerith, being stabbed from above and behind by Sephiroth. Shin-Ra troopers firing on Cloud as the blond knelt protectively over Zack's body. His mom and dad in Gongaga, lying facedown in a puddle of their own blood as Zack looked up with a dark smirk, flames surrounding his home burning, burning, Nibelheim burning, Konoha _burning_ ash so thick it blocked the sun black flames eating him alive—

 _You're dead,_ is what he wanted to say, but he was choking in his own blood. It stained his teeth. He jerked back, the _ratatat_ of bullets riddling his body as he kicked, desperate to get away, Angeal lifted Masamune and Zack slid down the sword, inching forward slowly so they were mere inches from one another.

He whispered, "What are you going to do about it?"

* * *

Zack jolted straight up out of bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He wiped his mouth, leaned over the edge of the raised bed, and retched violently before falling hard back on the mattress. He rubbed at his eyes with the palm of his hand, the taste of bile strong in his mouth.

"Angeal," he muttered. He took deep slow breaths, closing his eyes for a long moment, hands behind his head. Then he went and fetched a towel and cleaned up his mess. He laid back down, staring at the ceiling.

He couldn't sleep.

Zack sighed and rolled over, looking at the blank white wall. How had the kid he used to be lived in a place like this? No wonder he was obsessed with revenge and brooded a lot. It had no color, no life, and it was driving him to think. He didn't like to do that too much these days. Because then he wound up with thoughts like, maybe if he and Aerith and Cloud had been reincarnated, Angeal was out there too.

What did it all mean anyway? Was he Zack Fair, or Uchiha Sasuke? Aerith and Cloud seemed to have no problems staying themselves, figuring out which one they were. And what had happened after he died….Both of them seemed to shrug it off, but to them the crisis had only been the beginning.

They'd seen the world end and a new order come from it. To Zack, Migar had been a shining beacon of hope, the end of a journey, not a crushed ruin. Maybe he just couldn't understand the enormity of what had happened.

 _And_ _Cloud_ , _my living legacy..._ Zack worked his jaw. Truer than he knew. More than he had ever meant.

Sephiroth. The Remnants. JENOVA's memetic legacy. Angeal and Genesis copies. How was Zack really any different from them? Who knew what Hojo had injected them with, and J-Cells resonated, or S-Cells, or whatever. That's what Angeal and Hollander had said.

And Cloud's broken identity—Zack leaned forward, over the edge of the bed, head in his hands. Between the cell resonance and his last desperate grab for life, some part of him had latched on to Cloud. He hadn't meant to. He hadn't even known until Aerith had told him. " _Cloud acted so much like you!"_

It wasn't an act. It was so much more than that. Zack was _remembering._ Places he had never been, people he had never known, clear as his own memories. And it was still bleeding over in this life for some reason. The nightmares were only a small part of it. He was barely keeping himself together, whoever he was. He shuddered.

Wasn't reincarnation supposed to be a fresh start?

And yet, even with his memories, Zack was nothing. Just a puppy. Overeager and stupid. No help to anyone. He'd given Cloud a burden he should have never have had to bear. Hell, he'd killed Angeal himself, unable to help the hurting any other way.

And he wanted to "save" Itachi? He knew full well you couldn't save someone who didn't want to be saved. The boy he'd been was on fast track to become just like his brother. Monsters making monsters. Only luck had saved him from going down that path.

Was this even real? He felt himself disconnect, like he was floating away from his body, like he wasn't himself. The room spun, and he fought it down with a rising sense of panic.

 _Cloud_ , he thought desperately, and dressed himself, slotting his sword on his back. He slipped silently into the Konoha night, taking the shortest route between his home and Cloud's. Not many people were out at this time, though he did meet a few of the chuunin patrols who barely even gave him a glance as he passed. It wasn't a new thing for Uchiha Sasuke to be out and about at night. Insomnia was an old friend. He just usually had nowhere else to go. Most of the time he'd find himself passed out in the middle of a training ground.

Soon enough, he'd reached Cloud's apartment, climbing the outside of the building and knocking directly on his window, shifting from foot to foot. It took a long minute, but a sleep-mussed Cloud came and opened the window. He had on a sleeping cap with big wide eyes and a little round nose and teeth on the rim that made it look like it was biting his head.

It made him look like a total dork. It was adorable, and brightened his mood a little bit. "Cloudy!" Zack sing-songed, but his heart wasn't in it. Cloud seemed to pick up on it right away, and gestured for him to come in, rubbing sleepily at his eyes. It made him look a lot younger than he was.

Come to think of it, he hadn't been all that old when Shin-Ra had him either. Boy, they sure liked them young. Too young. Child soldiers in this life, impressionable and perfect for brainwashing. Monsters making monsters. He shuddered again at the reminder.

"Zack?" Cloud asked, frowning, knocking him out of his thoughts. Zack leaned over, pulled off Cloud's cap, and ruffled his hair, dropping his hand when Cloud pulled away scowling. Cloud was _alive_ , Cloud was _here,_ Cloud _wasn't_ catatonic and listless, staring up at the sky with dull blue eyes, shining green with mako. But it wasn't real it was just a dream _a_ _ **dream**_ _within a dream Shin-ra made_ _ **monsters**_ _it wasn't real he wasn't real how could it be real if he closed his eyes and opened them again it would disappear the_ _ **smell**_ _of the_ _ **Wastes thick in his nose**_ _and the copper tang of_ _ **blood**_ _and the acrid burn of mako—_

"Zack?" Cloud asked again, fully awake now, deep concern in his tone. "You're shaking. Zack, open your eyes. Look at me."

He didn't remember closing them. Zack looked down at his hands. His hands were trembling violently; he felt faint; he felt like he was going to throw up again. He thought he'd had this under control. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He couldn't speak. He just shook. Any minute now he was going to fly apart into a million pieces, any minute all this would disappear—

Then Zack felt arms wrap around him, pulling him close, anchoring him, grounding him. He leaned into them, resting his head on Cloud's shoulder and wrapping his arms around him tightly in return. He took a deep breath and let it out. Cloud was touching him. If he was touching him, then this had to be real. It had to. This wasn't some fever dream. Even he at his most touch-starved had never deluded himself into thinking touch was real.

Zack opened his eyes, and he was back in Cloud's messy apartment. Ramen cups were stacked everywhere, while motivational posters dotted the walls, pinned into place with battered sets of kunai and shuriken.

"Zack, you with me?" Cloud said, pulling away, hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah, Cloudy, I'm here," Zack said. "Just don't let go. I don't think I'm all here just yet." He grabbed Cloud's forearm and held on as if to reassure himself that he was still there. "Just a nightmare I haven't managed to shake off all the way just yet."

Cloud nodded, and kept a hand on his shoulder as Zack gathered himself up. But there was something in Cloud's eyes, something that he recognized, something that he'd been seeing a lot lately, something that wasn't there before his death.

Then it dawned on him: it was guilt. Cloud thought he was hiding it pretty well, but hey, Zack was a pretty perceptive guy, regardless of what people thought about him. Cloud…didn't need to feel guilty. Not about Zack's death, or his nightmares, or Hojo, or anything. It wasn't his fault. It was Shin-Ra's. Hell, it was the Turks', or the man that shot him in the head. Cloud was just a poor trooper in the wrong place at the wrong time. Zack hadn't been able to protect him like he should have. Hell, he'd arguably made it worse. _Some hero_.

Zack let out a great heaving sigh. "Hey Raincloud. How many times have I got to tell you none of this was your fault?"

"Zack, I—"

"None of it, Cloud. What is with you two? First Aerith, and now you. I made my own choices. No need to play the guilt game. No one ever wins that one. It just makes everyone feel like shit."

Cloud just stared at him, his face caught with emotion Zack couldn't place. "I said I'd live out both our lives. I didn't forget. I couldn't! How could I? It was the last thing—"

Zack flinched, hard. "I shouldn't have asked it of you," A noise like static buzzed in his ears. He got up, made to leave. He couldn't stand it another second; his nerves were scraped raw. _His last desperate hope to live, to exist ruined Cloud's life and_ _ **Cloud**_ _was the one who felt guilty?_

"Zack—"

Zack waved him off. "Don't!" He snapped. Immediately guilty at the way Cloud froze, he said in a near whisper, "Just don't, alright?"

Cloud stood up then. "Fine," he said. "But at least stay the rest of the night. It's a long walk back, and it's late."

Zack warred with himself for a long moment before giving in. "Fine." He flopped down on the couch, crossed his arms.

"Fine." Cloud made a quick stop to the bed in the corner for a duvet and a pillow and tossed them at Zack, who caught it with his face. There was quite a bit of force behind it too.

"Fine!" Zack said as he laid down, tucked the pillow under his head and rolled the sheet around him turning his back to Cloud.

He felt Cloud's eyes on his back. "You might want to try taking your own advice, Zack," he heard Cloud mutter.

Zack didn't answer. He stayed tense until Cloud's breathing settled, but soon the rhythm of Cloud's deep breaths lulled him to sleep.

By the time the next morning came, Zack had resolutely decided to ignore the events of the previous evening. He hadn't been feeling like himself, the nightmare had made everything worse, and he should have just kept it to himself instead of bothering Cloud. He didn't know what had come over him.

He perched over the edge of Cloud's futon. "Cloud," he said. Cloud didn't move. "Clouuuud," he said again, drawing out his name. Nothing but the twitch of his nose. Zack cast his eyes about the room for something he could use and found a piece of string.

He crept back to Cloud and dangled it over his nose. A feather would work better, but hey: you worked with what you had.

Cloud sneezed. "Stop it, Denzel," he slurred, slapping at it half-heartedly. With those whiskers and that scrunched up nose, he looked like a little kitten. Zack smothered a giggle, tickling his nose again with the string. This time, one blue eye popped open and grabbed it away from him, rolling away in a huff.

"About time you got up! You've been asleep _forever_!"

Cloud just grunted.

"I want to spar," Zack said. "SOLDIER rules."

Cloud blinked. "Right now?" He looked out the window where the sun hadn't even risen yet. "Don't we have training today anyway?" he asked.

"Yeah," Zack said, scratching the back of his head. "But Kakashi's going to be late as always, and I don't think I've had this much down time in like, ever man. It's fun and all, but I want another big mission. I'm so bored!" Zack whined. "He hasn't let us do any more fun stuff. Kakashi's treating us like glass!"

Cloud shot him a knowing look. "I wonder why," he said flatly. Zack refused to look away. "So you want to ditch training to train. Are you sure you're all right?"

Zack waved him off, grinning wide. "I'm fine. Everyone needs a day now and again, right?"

Cloud hmmed it over for a moment, hand on his chin. "Yeah, I guess we could do that," he said slowly.

Zack clapped his hands together, looking out the window where it was still dark outside. "We got plenty of time. Kakashi usually doesn't get to the training ground until like, twelve."

Cloud slid a pair of torn orange pants on, forgoing the jacket for a black mesh shirt over a tank. "You sure you're up for it?"

"Chyeah," Zack snorted. "When am I not?" They stood there awkwardly for a moment, in a way it hadn't been since they'd become friends. Zack still felt terrible for snapping at him; he handled it in the typical Zack fashion, though, and bulldozed right over it, grabbing Cloud's hand and yanking him out the window.

* * *

"SOLDIER rules?" Cloud asked, readying the _ōdachi_ Zack had found buried in his clan's junk. Seriously, there was like a whole heap of stuff that was just sitting and collecting dust. It wasn't a Buster but it would do for now. Cloud had looked at it with distaste, but had accepted it without a word. It was well-made, but positively tiny compared to Princess.

Zack nodded before touching his toes, then standing and cracking his neck. "SOLDIER rules. No limits," Zack began.

"No fatalities," Cloud added.

"And minimal property damage!" They said together, grinning.

"Other than that, anything goes!" Zack said.

"You're on!" Cloud said.

But they didn't start immediately. Instead, they stared at each over the dusty training ground, sizing one another up. They had never sparred using kenjutsu, so this was going to be an interesting experience.

Faster than the eye could see, Cloud leaped forward using chakra to boost his jump. He leapt over Zack's head, but Zack was more than ready for him. He lifted Princess up and caught Cloud's blade in the indention, causing the _ōdachi_ to wobble as they pressed swords against one another, straining. Sparks flew from the friction.

Zack let off first, twisting his sword and letting it go slack just long enough he could slide down Cloud's smaller blade. The swords caught at the hilt, but Zack lifted his blade and knocked Cloud's sword away, giving him time to back up and regroup.

Or so he thought. He'd only taken a couple of steps back before Cloud was on him again. Zack barely brought Princess up in time as their blades met again. Cloud was faster and didn't have to compensate for being shorter than his sword. The _ōdachi_ was also pounds lighter than Princess.

Still, his swordplay was a work of art; Cloud's blade flashed like quicksilver in the early morning dawn as their blades clashed again and again. He'd come a long way from the trooper he was, and Zack recognised elements of his own style in there. Cloud was truly proficient: even with a subpar blade and and a body that lacked the training, he knew what he was doing.

But so did Zack. He had a greater a wide sweep of his sword, he swiped at Cloud's legs just as he finished his own slash, causing Cloud to jump instead of following through, giving Zack enough time to run up a tree. He stopped about midway up, holding on to the trunk with just the chakra channelled to his feet.

"So that's how you want to play it, huh?" Cloud said from the ground, looking up, one corner of his mouth tugging up. "Scaredy-cat!"

"And proud of it!" Zack shouted. "Whatever works!" He felt _alive_ , he felt here in the moment as Cloud used chakra to boost his jump again, landing slightly above Zack, who immediately turned and locked blades with him again before Cloud could get him in the back. They struggled briefly, opponents' swords dangerously close. "Give up?" he said, right in Cloud's face. _Woo, that morning breath._

"You wish!" Cloud returned. They clashed again and again, fighting for the surface of the tree like they were playing King of the Mountain. Zack was winning; Cloud had to keep running corkscrews around the tree just to stay away from Princess's dangerous edge, when all the sudden, about a dozen more Clouds popped up in existence. _Cloud didn't even say the name of his technique. He must have been practicing_ , Zack thought.

"You didn't!" Zack pouted. One of the Clouds tossed an extra sword to Cloud, giving him double blades. "You did!" He said, voice tinged with disbelief.

Cloud just shrugged. "All's fair in love and war."

Zack just laughed and held the sword above his head, swinging downward. Cloud caught it in the crux of his swords, before he had to scramble to hold the thin blade in a block as one of the swords poofed out of existence. Cloud frowned. "Not as useful as I thought," Cloud muttered. He spawned some more clones and had them leap towards Zack in a zerg rush. Zack destroyed some of them but there were too many; they leaped on top of him, pushing him back.

Zack had had enough. He swung Princess open in a wide circle, gathered up chakra in his throat. He held two fingers in front of his mouth, took a deep breath, and then released it all at once. Fire caught the mass of clones, incinerating them all, leaving Zack standing on a somewhat sooty tree.

But Cloud had used his clones as a distraction, and was nowhere to be found. Zack scanned the training ground. Nothing. "Oh it's ON!" Zack said, and he leaped down. "Now who's the coward!" he shouted. Still no Cloud, though. He channelled chakra to his eyes, using the sharingan to pinpoint the chakra residue. Cloud was using it to enhance himself and to keep to the trees, so with these eyes he could see the small aura of chakra use.

Cloud was heading in the direction of Konoha proper. Like that was going to stop him. If he broke through the trees on the left he could dart in that alley and catch him. So that's what he did, using chakra himself to up his speed, dropping down in front of a surprised Cloud just as he entered the main thoroughfare.

This early in the morning, the streets were still empty, so Cloud used an abandoned cart as a springboard and hopped up the walls to the roof, alternating between the walls of each building. Tag it was.

Zack followed, only to have to dodge a quick strike of the sword as soon as his head popped over the roof. He jumped to the next building, standing sideways against gravity, holding his sword out to Cloud one-handed. He used his other hand to give Cloud a cheeky little "come here" wave.

Cloud narrowed his eyes and leapt after Zack, swinging his sword down. Zack dodged to the side, barely; it cut a lock of his hair. It also gouged a hole into the building they were standing on, but not enough to damage the structural integrity.

"Oops," Cloud muttered sheepishly, but they were off, leaping from building, clashing blades so fast it was impossible for a civilian to see. Flourish and parry, rinse and repeat. Zack was having the time of his life, and by the broader than usual smile on Cloud's face, so was he.

Zack leapt for him again, only to be interrupted by "WOW, Boss! That's so cool! Can you teach me?"

Cloud paused, sheathing his sword, and Zack snapped Princess to his harness with a sigh. There was a little black-haired boy looking up at Cloud with stars in his eyes. Cloud furrowed his brow and said, "Konohamaru?"

The little boy gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah! You promised you'd play ninja with me when you got back!" He kicked the dirt. "I know you've been busy, so I thought I'd find you! Look! I've been practising!" He held his hands in a cross seal.

"No don't—" Cloud warned, but it was too late.

"Sexy Technique!" An attractive brunette posed seductively, the most intimate parts of her naked body covered by the barest hint of smoke. She leaned over, squeezing her breasts together, and blew them a kiss.

"Oh man," Cloud said, face red. He had his hand over his eyes and was pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'd completely forgotten about that."

"Uh, does it bother anyone else that kid is like, six?" Zack said. "Anybody?"

She poofed back into Konohamaru. _Planet, that was wrong on so many levels_. "So what do you think, sensei? I've been doing much better!"

Zack blinked, then did a t-motion with his hands, gesticulating wildly. "Wait wait wait, timeout. 'Sensei?' Are you telling me you taught that kid that, Cloudy?"

"Kuraudi?" Konohamaru repeated, puzzled.

"Yeah," Cloud admitted. To the kid he said, "Don't pay any attention to that idiot. I never do."

"Bwahahahaha!" Zack burst forth as he doubled over with laughter.

"I don't see what's so funny," Cloud said petulantly, crossing his arms.

"Uh, Boss," Konohamaru said as he sidled over to Cloud. Zack was still laughing. "Who's that weird guy?"

"'Weird guy?' Hahahaha!" Zack said, his laughter intensifying.

Cloud rubbed his forehead. "That would be my teammate, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Oh," Konohamaru said, looking at him like he was crazy. "Want to ditch him to play ninja, Boss?"

"I'm afraid I promised him a spar," Cloud said with a sigh. "Without diligent practice, I can't become Hokage. If I slack in my training, it'll just be easy pickings for you. I can't let it the hat go without a fight, you know." Konohamaru looked really down, so Cloud knelt down, put his hands on his shoulders, and added, "Tell you what: team practice should be over by three or four today. Why don't you meet me over by Ichiraku's around four, and we'll play ninja then, alright?"

"Yeah! Alright!" Konohamaru nodded, grinning wide, and ran off.

By then, Zack's laughter had died down. "You know, you're pretty good with kids," Zack said. "I'm surprised."

"Maybe," Cloud said. "If it weren't for Marlene and Barrett, I wouldn't even known what to do with Denzel. Even then, it was Tifa taking care of them for the most part."

"Sounds like you miss them," Zack observed.

"Yeah," Cloud said. "Now come on, we have a spar to finish, yeah?" He was avoiding the subject. Zack let it lie. It was the least he could do.

"Alright. Let's do this!" And just like that, they were clashing swords like they hadn't been interrupted. Zack moved to disable Cloud's arm, but Cloud beat him to it, jumping up and springing off another building, taking back the high ground.

Tiles broke. Holes were punched in walls. Here and there long gouges marked the buildings where Cloud had dodged Princess. Once, they accidently broke a window much to the ire of the man inside.

They clashed again and again until they met in Konohagakure proper, in the middle of the market. "Uh," Zack said, a little hesitant. That was a lot of people, most of them civilians.

"C'mon, Midgar was busier than this on a good day," Cloud said. "No jutsu."

"I don't know," Zack said doubtfully. Cloud's sword coming at his head didn't give him much time to think about it though. And he went to block it. They circled around the market, avoiding the open stalls and people and staying close to the alleys and buildings.

Surprisingly enough, the people didn't even give them a second glance.

After the small break, Zack had caught most of his breath, but without mako, Princess was heavy to wield after such a long time, and so when Cloud got past his guard, unthinkingly he channelled mana into the blade to cast a spell.

Except Zack forgot it was chakra, not mana. Princess handled it just fine, but the heat of the strange fire-lightning shattered Cloud's _ōdachi_ , sending Cloud flying through the building behind them and shrapnel everywhere.

It was quiet for a few moments before a loud female voice interrupted. "All right! Whoever broke the dango shop is gonna pay!"


	5. In Which There is a Dress and a Cat

Cloud groaned from the rubble of the restaurant counter, hand still on the hilt of his broken sword. Yeah, that hadn't been his best idea. With a guilty look, Zack snapped Princess back in her harness and moved inside the broken building to help him up. Cloud took Zack's gloved hand, and he pulled him to his feet in one smooth move. "Sorry, man," Zack offered quietly, dusting him off.

"It's my fault," Cloud said. "You were right. You'd think they'd build them stronger here, what with the s-class ninja and all." Cloud pulled a shard of wood out of the fleshy part of his shoulder with a wince. _Well, at least it's not rebar, and I heal pretty quickly. Good thing it wasn't Zack on the other end._

Zack smiled. "So you can be humble, good to know!"

"Are you sure we aren't talking about you?" Cloud said, ribbing him.

The woman who spoke turned in their direction, catching sight of them. Her light eyes narrowed. She had long black hair tied up in a knot on her head and a fringe that dipped down into her eyes. She wore metal mesh like Cloud with a coat and a short skirt. And she was stalking slowly in Zack's direction, exuding killing intent.

"Uh, Zack," Cloud said, glancing at the other woman and then back to Zack.

"Way ahead of you, Cloud!" And they ran like hell, the woman picking up speed behind them, easily pacing them, following a short distance behind them but gaining quickly.

"I have one pleasure in this life, you brats! And you just ruined it" Cloud had to spring to the left as a kunai grazed his shoulder, slicing open his arm. "Ruined it!"

"If dango is your one pleasure lady, you need to get out more!" Zack fired over his shoulder, neatly dodging the civilian in his way, grabbing on to her shoulders and spinning her around. "Or get laid!"

"Fuck you!" She was still gaining, even as Cloud pumped more chakra into his legs, increasing his speed and jumping distance.

"I'd take you up on that offer, but I'm far too young for that kind of kinky behavior!" Zack shouted back. A scream of beautiful, beautiful rage. To Cloud, he said, "We're in trouble!" Zack said. "This lady is way above our level!"

"You think?"

"I just got back from a long-term mission and I just wanted to relax, but NO! Some idiot had to destroy the best dango place in town and now YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT! STOP RUNNING SO I CAN KILL YOU PROPERLY!"

"What are we gonna do! She's gonna kill me!" Zack said as he narrowly missed being struck by a rock. Must have run out of kunai. They _were_ everywhere.

""I think that was a plural 'you!'" Cloud said.

"Does it freakin' matter?"

"You're the one that thought goading her on was a good idea!"

"Details! Split up?"

"Yeah. Aerith's?" Cloud said.

"Aerith's," Zack replied.

About a hundred Clouds popped up, half of them transforming into Zacks. The clones spammed the marketplace, Some of them staying and causing a ruckus while others trailed off in doubles, a Zack and a Cloud each.

The real Zack and Cloud went off in the opposite directions.

Cloud circled around the back of the market, heading through the red-light district and around the Hokage Monument, circling the tower before heading to the civilian sector where Aerith lived. As he turned the corner, he saw Zack running towards him from the opposite direction.

"Demon lady is still after me!" Zack wailed. A pop of a few more clones more than confirmed it.

Cloud hopped through Aerith's open window, getting tangled for the moment in drawn curtains. "Sakura, I need you to—oh." He said, averting his eyes, looking down at the floor.

"Naruto!" Aerith squeaked. She was sitting on her raised bed in a tan towel, hair in a matching one so bulky and loose it covered her eyebrows. She was so petite the towel more than covered everything, and he'd seen more than enough of everyone when they were traveling, but it was the principle of the thing.

"Sasuke's coming. Hide us!"

She stood up. "Hide you? From whom? What's going on? You're hurt!"

Just then Zack burst in through the window, going deadly still when he saw Aerith. "Uh, awkward." He shook his head as if to clear it, "I circled around and directed some clones to shake her off, but I'm pretty sure she knows where we are."

Another clone popped. "She knows," Cloud said. "No way we can sneak out the back either. A snake just took out one of my clones. We've got less than ten seconds."

Aerith gave a long-suffering sigh. "Naruto, get in the closet, now! Aerith said, gesturing. "Sasuke, under the bed!"

Cloud and Zack scrambled to do what they were told, Zack diving headfirst underneath the bed.

Just as Cloud shut the door to the closet, he heard, "It's rude to trespass ninja-san." Aerith said in a firm, polite tone. "What are you doing just breaking into my room? As you can see, I just got out of the bath."

"It's also rude to lie, little girl," the woman countered. "Where are those brats? I know they're in here!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cloud could just imagine Aerith crossing her arms and lifting her nose in the air stubbornly.

"That's just fine. I know they're in here. I'll wait them out." Cloud heard a thump and some shifting and scraping of metal.

"At least let me get dressed! I'll even help you look!"

"I don't think so! I know a distraction when I see one, I wasn't born yesterday!"

Some more loud banging, and then a loud crash that sounded like something shattering. "Just who do you think you are? That was my grandmother's!" Aerith said, her voice filled with real distress.

They had gotten her into this situation; they needed to get her out. He still didn't want to get caught—that woman was vicious—but Aerith needed his help. At the same time, he really, really, _really_ , didn't want to do this. He bit the bullet, shucked off his clothes, held the idea in his mind, trickled the tiniest amount of chakra he could as he signed _cross-dog-boar-ram,_ and grabbed the purple fabric in front of him. The universe absolutely hated him.

"Mitarashi Anko, Special Jounin, thank you very much."

"Yes, I suppose I'd act like a total animal too if my mother named me after dango!"Another loud crash and what sounded like the bed creaking.

"Now you listen here you little—"

"GET OUT! **SHANNARO** ~! I ought to report you for abuse of power!"

Just then, Cloud came out of the closet, ruffling his short hair into his eyes, fluffing the back of his hair as he walked out for volume. He took a deep breath. _Channel Yuffie on a date, channel Yuffie on a date, channel Yuffie on a date._ _Don't forget the pronouns change in Wutaian!_ "Ko-chan, who's this loud woman?" Cloud whined, cocking his hip to the side. "She's annoying! I can't even get dressed in peace!"

"Cl-uh S-Sora," Aerith said, voice strangled. "You're done changing already?"

"Of course! A girl's got to know how to make the most of a little. Besides, I found this slinky purple number in the back. Is it Ino's? If not, can I have it? It looks totally amazing with my colouring!" Cloud said, twirling. _Don't think about it, channel Yuffie on a date, channel Yuffie on a date, don't think about it,_ "Besides it looks like you need help. Sounds like this woman is a total bit—"

"How come I didn't sense you, huh?" Anko darted across the room and grabbed his crotch, frowning when she felt nothing.

"Sora" rolled his eyes. "Rude! Ko-chan's right! I ought to report you to like, your jounin supervisor for molestation and harassment!" The woman tugged at his smallish breasts. "I'm serious! That hurts! Ow!" Cloud covered himself and slapped her hands away.

She grabbed him on the arm where he had been cut, but it had healed completely and was shallow enough not to leave a scar. He'd wiped the blood off with spit and his shirt.

Anko formed a seal, "Kai!" It was enough chakra to release the whole room. Cloud held his breath, but his transformation held. Anko poked and prodded at him, apparently in shock. It was uncomfortable, but better him than Aerith.

He tilted his head to the side. "Are you finally done?" he said in a flat tone when she stopped.

"Fine!" She shouted. "You win! But I know those two are in here. I'm watching you." She pointed two fingers to her eyes, then to them, then back to her eyes. "I'll get them, you just wait!"

"Two who?" Aerith said. "It's just me and a couple of friends getting ready to go out. Are you that much of an old hag you don't even know how to have fun anymore? Besides, did you see anyone come in here? I certainly haven't."

"No, but—" Anko narrowed her eyes. "Who's in the bathroom then?"

"If you really want to barge in on my civilian mom, be my guest! I already had a hard enough time convincing her to let me be a shinobi, I don't need you making it worse." Anko's eyes softened a little at that pronouncement. "You come into my house, get handsy with my friends, and break my stuff! Well, I have had enough!" Aerith said, chakra rising. "Get out, now, or so help me, I will go straight to the Hokage! Just see if I don't!"

The woman huffed, but with a swirl of her coat, she leapt out of the window without a word.

Aerith looked up and gave a long, loud, sigh. "All right. What did you do?"

"Who said I did anything! It's his fault!" Cloud hissed, pointing to the bed. "He knocked me through a wall!"

"Shh," Zack said from under the bed. "She might be close enough to hear."

All three of them stood in tense silence for a long while while Aerith stretched out her chakra sense. "No, she's gone for now. Not far, but out of hearing distance. Now tell happened."

"He broke the dango shop. With my body," Cloud said. "And that's her obsession or something."

"A woman named after dango loves dango. Of course," Aerith said, rolling her eyes. "You're alright, right?"

"Yeah."

"You can come out, Zack, but stay out of the window's line of sight."

"Thank Shiva! I thought she was gonna kill me," Zack said climbing out from under the bed, "I mean I really—Cloud?" Zack said, standing there, stunned, his mouth open. "Is there any particular reason you look like _that?"_ he looked him up and down.

"You're going to catch flies," Cloud grumbled, tapping Zack's jaw shut. The dress hugged Cloud's curves and fell just above the knee, with thin straps that showed off his gently sloped shoulders. It was a battle dress, so it had high slits on both sides with a pair of tight shorts underneath for modesty. Cloud fought down a blush, looking down, not realising it made him look coy and demure. "It worked, didn't it? Got her off our backs?"

"Well, yeah, but I mean, I had wondered—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Is that a Konohamaru thing? A lot more subtle. I have to say I like this a whole lot better."

"Uh, sort of?"

"I should say a 'you' thing since you were the one who taught him, I guess." Zack reached out and grabbed his chin, turning Cloud's face left and right. "It's bone structure and everything. It's no illusion, either, or I'd feel a stronger jawline. A solid transformation! That's amazing!"

"It's a good thing you find it so amazing because you're about to learn how to do it," Aerith said, smothering a giggle.

Zack blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Team training started fifteen minutes ago. And if we want to get there before Kakashi, we've got an hour to get past her and reach the training fields. She wasn't kidding, she's still watching the window." Aerith said. "Unless you have any better ideas."

"Well, okay then. If you say so," Zack said doubtfully.

"Hey, you don't have to do it if you don't want to avoid her, but I've already lost my grandmother's vase. There's no telling what she'll do to you." Aerith said, maybe enjoying this a little too much. Cloud scowled. He knew she would.

"Hand seals are simple, just a modified transformation technique," Cloud said, showing him the hand seals. "Watch with the sharingan."

He dropped out of the transformation. Zack channelled chakra to his eyes, focusing while Cloud transformed again. "Focus is important, as is visualisation. Since it's physical, you can't change your bone structure too much; the jutsu won't let you. So picture a female version of yourself."

"Yeah, I think I got it." Zack had a look of intense concentration—and a little bit of bewilderment, but he smothered that down. He did the seals, overloaded it with chakra like Cloud had, and when the smoke cleared...not much had changed, actually. He was still lithe and slender-boned, jaw a little narrower, shoulders a little thinner, hips a little wider. Like Cloud, he had forgone the large breasts for something more befitting of a preteen, though Cloud was pretty widely built in either form. "Balance feels off," he muttered, shifting from foot to foot. "And I'm tinier than Sakura."

"Lower center of gravity. You'll get used to it," Cloud said.

"Now let me get dressed—finally, and I'll fix that awful make-up job. Your foundation is too dark, Cloud. You should know better." Aerith wiggled her finger at him.

"I had to hide my markings somehow! They show through the transformation! It's not my fault you had limited choices, you know, in the _closet_ or anything, and seconds to do it," Cloud said. "I'm lucky she didn't look too closely. Sloppy for a jounin."

Aerith put her hands on her hips. "Special jounin. Quit complaining about being lucky."

"Too dark?" Zack squinted at Cloud's face. "And just how do you know how to put on make-up anyway, Cloud?" Zack asked.

"Oh, here we go," Cloud said, face palming.

Aerith grinned. "Remember that blackmail about Cloud-' _chan_?'" she said as she grabbed a few things and moved inside the closet. "He's done this before. Without that perverted technique."

"You didn't, Cloud! Back in Midgar?" Zack said, voice strangled like he was holding in laughter. "Oh man!"

Cloud groaned.

"Yes! He learned a lot!" Aerith shouted from behind the door.

"Well, _I_ learn something new every day. I bow to your experience," Zack said seriously, doing just that by bowing to his waist formally. "Teach me, sensei."

Cloud groaned again. "I hate you both. I really mean it."

"Uh-huh," Zack said knowingly. "You've said that before. We know. We hate you, too." But there was such warmth in his voice it couldn't be mistaken for anything else but affection. "Look, Cloud, earlier today I was out of line—"

"Zack, forget it, all right? I shouldn't have pressed," Cloud said, holding up a hand.

"Sometimes you need to," Zack said.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time.

"Okay, I'm done!" Aerith chirped. She had forgone her usual dress, instead wearing a red tunic like shirt with some black shorts and bandages to the top of her sandals. She tossed a bundle at Zack, who caught it and shook it out. "Oh, did I interrupt a moment?"

"Nah," Zack said. "We were done anyway." Cloud's look promised they weren't. "What's this?"

"Your new outfit. Try it on."

Zack dropped his clothes in the middle of the room.

"Zack!" Aerith said, scandalized. She threw a pillow at him.

He held his hand and it bounced off, and he stood up, affronted."What? We're all women here. Same parts and everything," he said, shrugging into the outfit. "A cheongsam?

"Fits your upper class, delicate face. It also doesn't fit me anymore," Aerith said, regret in her tone, patting her hips.

"Check your range of motion," Cloud said. "You'll never know when you have to fight in it."

Zack did. He could move fine; it was built the same way Cloud's dress was, and had short sleeves with notches for movement. "All right. I'll go bag up our other stuff. Think she'll notice if the equipment pouches are the same?"

"I doubt it, but I don't think she'll do anything about it even if she does," Aerith said, working on Cloud's face. "I think we'll go smoky," she said to Cloud. "It'll bring out your eyes and I have the best waterproof stuff."

"I'll bag them anyway except for the thigh holsters. You have a couple to spare, right?" Zack asked her, folding their clothes and putting them into a small rucksack. "They're standardized for kunoichi, and she hasn't seen yours. I don't feel right weaponless."

"Yeah. Don't forget the make-up remover wipes and my big cosmetics kit." She took the towel off her head and began braiding her wet hair. "Or sealing that big sword. That's a big giveaway! I'm still trying to figure out how you got that underneath the bed."

"Nothing but pure skill," Zack said. " I like the hair."

"Yeah, I dyed it brown. It's temporary; I just sort of missed it, that's all." She let out a wistful sigh. "We're going to have to go through the front door."

"Yeah, it looks good." Cloud said

"You're next, Zack!" Aerith called. He sat down in front of her. "And don't fidget. If I smear, we're going to have to start all over."

"Well, we can't have that." Zack said. "You know," he said as she was working on his contouring, "This is weirdly intimate." He smacked his lips. "And sticky."

"You're a pervert," Aerith said. "And don't smudge your lipstick."

Once Aerith had put the finishing touches on it, she said, "Now let's get out of here!"

* * *

And his students weren't at practice. _Great_. Kakashi sighed, stuck his hand in his pockets, and left the training ground. He wasn't going to lie; he was a little bit miffed. They were later than he was! Maybe he was going to have to get there earlier. He tilted his head at the thought, then shook it. Nah.

The one time he'd cut his memorial time off a little early, and they didn't even show!

He frowned.

Now to find them. For some reason, they were suppressing their chakra. He was a decent sensor and intimately familiar with their chakra (and a jounin to their genin), so he leapt to the tallest thing next to him, which was a tree, and opened his senses.

 _And gotcha_. The civilian district halfway across town, close to where Sakura lived. If she was running late, and the boys were going to pick her up as they did occasionally, that would make sense. _I wonder why she's running late. Related to her bloodline, maybe?_ He was starting to suspect more and more that she had one. It wasn't mokuton, not quite, but plants reacted to her chakra, almost like they were feeding hungrily on it. They turned to Sakura every time she was close enough to walk by. He didn't think she even noticed, though.

As he got closer, passing Sakura's house—and she wasn't kidding about Konoha full of flowers; they were everywhere in her yard, though some were trampled for some reason—he discovered their chakra wasn't there, but at a little civilian park about a block away, and that Anko was on the building across from Sakura's house for some reason, her chakra intensely focused. _Weird._

Avoiding Anko, he meandered through the streets to the park.

"If it isn't my dear little wayward students—" Kakashi began when he reached their chakra (though something about Sasuke and Naruto's was a little bit off), but then he pulled back when he didn't catch sight of them anywhere in the park. A little concerned now, he cast his eyes around the place.

Nothing. Some kids over by the swings, three girls sitting on a bench, an exhausted mom rocking an infant, and wait—Three preeteen girls, wearing hitae-ate and dressed like kunoichi? A blonde with smoky eyeshadow that brought out wide blue eyes, a black-haired girl with delicate features and blood-red lips, and one with deep rich brown hair and green eyes that reminded him of the earth, or growing things. Very familiar green eyes.

Kakashi said he was just going to roll with it, and that he was done being surprised, but this was a little much.

Explained Anko, though. He'd _love_ to hear the story behind that one. They must have tried to fake her out—and succeeded.

He hadn't expected them to be—well, dressed differently, and so he had been a little off guard, but at the same time, it was very good work for genin who only had the academy basics in infiltration. Sure, it wouldn't have fooled the sharingan, but to fool an experienced jounin like him on the first glance? And apparently a special jounin entirely? Pretty impressive.

 _Oh, that's just too precious_. Naruto had caught sight of him first and panicked, standing up, alerting the other two, but also anyone else that they'd just noticed him. Hmm. They'd need to learn to be a little more discreet if they wanted to learn how to infiltrate properly. Kakashi could fix that.

He sauntered up to them, hands in his pockets. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my wayward students. You missed the beginning of practice, you know." Kakashi said. They were completely quiet, all three of them staring up at him with wide deer-in-the-spotlight eyes.

He smiled, eyes squinting from the breadth of his smile. Sasuke gulped. "I had something fun planned for today, too." He looked each of them in the eye. "I don't mind you taking initiative and learning in your own way—in fact, that's the sign of a good soldier—but as your jounin sensei, I'm also your superior officer. We could have had an important mission and left a client waiting."

Naruto scoffed. Yeah, so Kakashi hadn't been running them on anything but D-Ranks since they were still recovering from Wave. It still didn't excuse it. He had to punish them. And he knew just how.

"Since you like it so much, you can stay that way. The entire chuunin exams I just entered you in." Kakashi said giving them an eye smile. "Without anyone being the wiser."

"But senseiiii," Sasuke whined, stomping his feet. "You don't understand! There's a demon lady—" _Obito would have done the same thing,_ he thought fondly. He couldn't remember why that would have annoyed him, once upon a time.

Sakura elbowed him. "Shut up, Sasuke!" To Kakashi, she said, "Please ignore him, Sensei."

 _Demon lady? Yes, they'd gotten mixed up with Anko._ That sounded like quite an interesting story! But he would ignore it. For now. It was always the most fun when they least expected it, anyway.

Naruto however, had pursed his lips into a thin pink line, and turned pale. "You entered us into the chuunin exams? Sakura?" Even with the feminine features, it was still shocking how much he looked like Minato. Even more now that he had covered up the lines on his face.

"That's how we get promoted from genin to chuunin," Sakura said. "I don't know how. They don't specify the contents of the test to our rank. I hadn't quite realized they were so close."

Kakashi nodded. "Battle's not the only thing a ninja will be required to do. Infiltration is just as important." Kakashi shrugged. "Who knows when it will come up? You should be prepared. And the best way to learn is by doing."

"Yeah, if your sensei is a massive—" Sasuke began. Naruto elbowed him in the side, hard. That shut him up. Kakashi smiled from the nostalgia. Yes, he was a bastard.

"That being the case, sensei, you're pretty famous," Sakura said, her eyes glittering. "And everyone knows who your team is, at least in Konoha. You'd give the game away immediately."

"Yeah!" Sasuke jumped in. "If we're gonna have to do this, you should have to as well!"

"That's not where I was going with that," Sakura said, shaking her head. "I was thinking more along the lines of not doing it at all."

Naruto just sighed and said, "Sakura's right though, Kakashi-sensei. You're pretty famous. People will know we're your students. Besides," he looked up at him with wide blue eyes. "We're your teammates, aren't we? You've got to stick by us!"

"There is something to be said for solidarity," Sakura said, clasping her hands together, eyes sparkling.

Kakashi felt his resolve waver.

"And Sensei, you said once that those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash," Sasuke said, honest-to-god full on pouting. "Are you going to abandon us?"

Kakashi's resolve crumbled. It was full on emotional manipulation. Kakashi felt a tear well up in the corner of his good eye. He was so proud of his team. Logos and Pathos. So proud.

"Heaven help me, I'll do it," Kakashi said.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork, puzzled. "Kakashi. I just sent out the missive. You're on time." The Hokage's eyebrows raised. "How unprecedented! What is going on? Is there something I should be concerned about?"

"Sir?" Kakashi asked, hands behind his back. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

The Hokage lit his pipe. "So you're telling me you haven't heard about the destruction two boys matching the description of Team Seven did to the market district?"

Kakashi blinked. "No, but that explains a lot. I came to request Team Seven's nomination be removed from the chuunin exam. May I ask what happened?"

"A black-haired boy with a large sword who looked remarkably like Uchiha Sasuke knocked a blond-haired boy who looked remarkably like Naruto into the premier dango shop, doing about half a million ryo worth of property damage. I suppose it's good to know you didn't endorse this."

"I see. And no. They ditched practice."

"But I am now curious, I must admit. If you've only just heard the news, care to explain why you would rescind your nomination?" The Hokage said, leaning forward, steepling his fingers together.

"Yes. I would. It's because I want to nominate Team Atsuko!"

Sarutobi frowned. "I don't follow."

"You've read Team Seven's reports, haven't you?" Kakashi asked him. "From Wave Mission on?"

The Hokage leaned back in his his chair. "I have. I must admit, the thought of a taciturn Naruto disturbs me. I need to speak with him soon. I owe it to his father."

"He seems to have leveled out, though he's still abnormally quiet. He talks and laughs though, with the rest of Team Seven, which eases my mind. I must admit that when you gave me this team, I didn't expect them to pull together this well. I can only conclude it was bonds formed in the heat of battle."

"And Uchiha Sasuke? Are your concerns about him still valid?"

Kakashi shrugged, "I don't think so anymore. He's still a brat. I've seen him interact with others outside of Team Seven, and he's just arrogant as he ever was, though it's a charismatic kind of braggadocio. The only significant change Sakura has shown is maturation and increased affection towards the other two. Not infatuation; genuine regard. She also is quite handy with a quarterstaff, though I can't imagine where she would have picked that up."

"And her developing kekkai genkai?"

"Still under close watch. I haven't seen any further evidence of her healing ability, but judging from the way living things react to and with her, Mokuton is a very definite possibility, though I couldn't possibly understand how the Senju genes got into the Haruno line."

"It's not completely unprecedented for a branch of a clan to withdraw from the shinobi life and make civilians of themselves under a different name."

"It's not that. I've looked. Her family's documents are well corroborated. That lab she mentioned bothers me."

"You think she may have been one of Orochimaru's experiments, like Tenzō?"

Kakashi nodded. "I do."

Sarutobi sighed. "I want you to be careful, Kakashi. My former student knows how to cover his tracks, and that information isn't worth your life."

"Yes, sir."

"And 'Team Atsuko?'"

"I'd like to enter Team Seven into the Chuunin exams underneath that name as an all-kunoichi team with a kunoichi sensei."

Sarutobi coughed as a bit of the smoke from his pipe choked him for a moment. "WHAT?" He wheezed when he'd caught his breath.

"You heard me. I can repeat the request, if you'd like."

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "And how did this idea come about, exactly?"

"After destroying the dango shop, the boys appeared to have been chased by Special Jounin Mitarashi Anko to Sakura's house where she trapped them inside with no alternative route of escape. Instead of remaining there, they proceeded to use Naruto's Centrefold Technique to feint and escape, leaving Anko watching an empty building. I found them shortly after, and much to my embarrassment, it took a moment for even me to determine their actual location. Their disguises were _that_ thorough."

" _That_ technique, huh?" Sarutobi mumbled, chewing on his pipe. "And how did you get involved?"

"I told them as punishment and infiltration training, they could maintain those disguises through the chuunin exams. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pointed out I would give them away in that case. So in the interest of training and team spirit, I agreed."

"So you're telling me your team convinced you to pull a long term infiltration mission here in Konoha. Cross-dressing."

"That's right!" Kakashi said breezily.

"And you want me to go along with it?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, I could hardly ask my dear little students to do something I myself aren't comfortable with. And they're right, in any case. Me being their jounin instructor would give them away instantly."

"If they pull this off…" the Hokage sighed.

"I'd say instant promotion, don't you think?" Kakashi said.

"They'd still have to put on a good showing."

Kakashi's grin grew. "Oh, they will. Also, it'd be a good secondary mission to audit village counterintelligence protocol. Let's see how many shinobi can discover that there's anything amiss."

The Hokage chewed on his pipe and thought for a long moment. "All right. I approve it. I'll do what's necessary from my end, but you get to do all the paperwork."

Kakashi slumped. "Damn it."

"And don't think I don't know where the name Atsuko comes from."

"That's as good as you admitting what a purveyor of fine literature you are, you know."

"Kakashi?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Get out."

* * *

"You know," Zack said. "I can't believe we're going to find Konohamaru. Won't he give us away?" He said, looking at his red nails that matched his lipstick. He thumbed them.

"Don't chip those. I worked really hard on those," Aerith said. "If you keep messing them up, you're going to have to learn how to do it yourself. That's supposed to be non-chip and battle-proof. Look at you, breaking all the rules." She grinned and ruffled Zack's long silky hair which was tied back in a looped braid. He leaned into her touch, wrapping his arm around her side and grabbing hold of her hand.

"I wonder if it's the kind my brother uses?" Zack mused, still looking at his other hand.

"Wait, what?" Aerith asked.

"I made a promise. Besides, Konohamaru is a good kid," Cloud said, eyes determinedly forward. "I want to do this. I already can't have ramen until it's over," he sighed.

"I don't see how you can eat that stuff! It's so greasy! Tomatoes are where it's at," Zack said. "Anyway, if we fail before we even start, Atsuko-sensei will never let us live it down."

"We won't fail just from 'playing ninja.' You worry too much," Cloud said.

"That's coming from you? That's seriously coming from you?" Zack said. "Oh boy, I remember you right before your first SOLDIER exam. I think you were greener than a tonberry." He shuddered. "Ugh, I hate those things. Did I ever tell you about the cook that lost his knife, Aiko?"

Aerith nodded. "But you can tell it to me again, Hikaru."

"You know you don't have to come with me. I'm the one that made the promise," Cloud said,

Zack slung his arm around Cloud's shoulder. "What kind of friends would that make us if we just ditched you in your time of need?"

"I didn't realize it was quite so desperate," Cloud said, quirking the corner of his lip up in a semblance of a smile. "There he is."

"Aww, he looks so sad," Aerith said, cooing.

"Speaking of ditching, He must have thought Sora ditched him, the poor thing," Zack said. "And he's got his friends with him. Cute!"

They stayed behind while Cloud sauntered up to Konohamaru. "I believe we were supposed to play ninja today, future Hokage?"

"Lady, I don't know you—" Konohamaru looked up, his eyes widening as he caught sight of Cloud's face. Being very familiar with Cloud's sexy technique, he said, "B-b-boss? Is that you?"

Cloud put his finger on his pink lips and gave Konohamaru a wink. "My name is Sora, Konohamaru-kun."

"This is more training, isn't it?" the boy said excitedly. "The next level? Wow! I'm gonna work hard to catch up with that kind of appeal! I won't let you beat me!"

"Something like that," Cloud said, putting his hand on his hips. "Ready to play ninja?"

"Yeah! UDON, MOEGI, IT'S TRAINING TIME!" The two following him bounced their heads. "Uh," Konohamaru said, scratching his own. "We don't have to look like you, do we? Moegi and Udon don't know the technique yet."

Cloud shook his head. "Nah, this is our own team training. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread it around. It's a very important mission. The fate of Konohagakure is at stake." If that didn't convince him to keep quiet, nothing would.

Konohamaru nodded. "Yeah, yeah!"

"You want to meet my teammates? This is Hikaru," he said, pointing to Zack, "And this is Aiko."

Aerith bowed. Zack waved two fingers and said, "Nice to meetcha!"

Konohamaru scowled. "You're the crazy laughing one!"

Aerith turned to Zack, "Just what have you been doing, love?" Zack shrugged, giving her a wide grin.

Moegi looked at them with big eyes. "And you're all kunoichi! That's so cool. I didn't even think they allowed all kunoichi teams! I mean, I like 'Maru and Udon and all, but sometimes I'd like to have more girls around, you know?"

"Don't I know it!" Aerith said. "It's just for the chuunin exams. We're a temporary team! Now what's this about playing ninja?"

"Konohamaru wanted to play ninja tag, but me and Udon would rather play capture the flag," Moegi confided, tugging at her tunic. "I want to be the hero. Konohamaru can be the princess this time!"

"There's nothing that says the Princess can't rescue the hero! I for one think 'Capture the Flag' is a good idea. Ladies?" Aerith said, crossing her arms and giving them the _look_.

"Absolutely," said Cloud, straight-faced.

"Whatever you say," Zack was quick to add.

Konohamaru leaned over to Cloud, frowning. "You were awfully quick to agree. Is she your, you know?" he said, wiggling his pinky suggestively.

Cloud threw up his hands. "Not mine!"

Zack raised one, "Guilty."

Udon turned his head. "I see, so that's how it is." Everyone turned to look at him as he spoke for the first time in their presence. He held up his two hands, pinky out on each, facing the other. "How does that even work?"

Zack patted his head. "I'll tell you when you're older, kid."

Then they settled down to let Aerith explain the rules of the game. Ichiraku's would be home base one, while the training ground next to the Hokage Monument was home base two, and the field just inside the front gates was home base three. Teams would be Aerith and Moegi, Zack and Udon, and Cloud and Konohamaru in a battle royale.

The game had gone pretty well. Aerith was in the lead, but Konohamaru had just stolen her flag and was booking it through the streets to his base by the front gate. He was just about to reach it when he crashed into someone. Konohamaru struggled to get away, but the guy had a firm grip on his scarf.

Luckily, Aerith and the rest of the teams weren't far behind, and while Konohamaru was kicking valiantly, he couldn't get away. Cloud though, would have none of it, walking up to the ninja who was wearing a Sunakagure headband and crossing his arms. "You need to let him go. NOW." he said, well within striking distance.

The ninja who held Konohamaru had a white face, and some kind of purple paint. "Oh, hello pretty lady~" the painted ninja wiggled his eyebrow suggestively. Zack's eyebrows shot straight up, and he bristled. Aerith could do her own defending, but if he was going to hit on her, at least he shouldn't have the audacity to do it right in front of hi—oh wait. The sand ninja wasn't hitting on Aerith, he was hitting on _Cloud_.

"I hate you," Cloud said with extreme feeling to Aerith. "I hate everything you stand for."

Aerith just giggled, but it was a little nervous, and she faced off in front of a kunoichi with a fan, her hand on her staff, ready to use it at a moment's notice. Presumably, that was the painted nin's teammate. All three of them kept their senses open for the missing third.

"You need to let him go. I won't let you hurt my little brother," Cloud said. Zack too, unsealed Princess and likewise kept his hand on her. "Where is your paperwork? Even for the chuunin exams, foreign ninja have to show it to any nin that asks it of them."

Konohamaru gasped as the scarf loosened and he fell flat on his tail. "Boss! You're so cool."

"Ha! As if you stupid Konoha—" the painted ninja began, stepping on the scarf as Konohamaru raced to pick it up.

"Kankuro, cut it out," the blonde kunoichi said. "Here." She handed Cloud the paper. "Satisfied?"

Cloud gave it a once over. "Not really," he said, tossing it back haphazardly and forcing the kunoichi, Temari if the papers were correct, to scramble to catch them. "I want that scarf. I think you need to leave."

"What?" Kankuro sneered, "You going to make us?"

"If we have to," Zack said, readying Princess. He didn't care if they discovered them now. No one hurt little kids on his watch. A successful mission wasn't worth Konohamaru getting hurt.

"You know," the blonde called Temari said. "I hate kunoichi like you three. You spend more time on your looks than you do on training."

"You think so?" Aerith said "I'll take that as a compliment, since it's obviously jealousy. If I were as ugly as you, not even the courtesans in the Capital could do anything about it, no matter how much time and money they spent on you." Temari bristled, hand on her fan.

"That's such big sword for such a little girl," Kankuro said. "If you were a man like me I'd say you were compensating for something."

"Oh, a 'man' like you, huh? You just wait until you see me use it." Zack said. "Then we'll see who is compensating."

Kankuro bristled, reaching for the mass of bandages on his back, while Temari brandished her fan, when a wave of killing intent nearly toppled all of them over, causing most of them to stagger back except for Cloud, who flinched but stood his ground.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at a redhead who stood in a tree surrounded by a wave of sand. He had dark circles under his eyes, and it was he who was exuding the killing intent. Zack saw Cloud's anger grow as the killing intent increased. A sour smell wafted through the air, and Zack looked over to see Udon had wet himself. Konohamaru looked pretty close himself. Moegi was standing stock still, not even shaking, unable to breathe.

"Kankuro, Temari. Stop wasting time or I'll kill you," the redhead said in a voice deep for his age. Temari paled; the boy blustered with his body language, but ultimately kept quiet. Sweat beaded on his forehead though, messing up his face paint.

"They're your teammates," Cloud said quietly. "Why?"

"Because Mother said so," he said, shrugging.

"Hey, man, you always do everything your mother tells ya?" Zack asked. "Lame!"

"Great," Cloud muttered. "Another one with mommy issues."

"You seem to collect them, Cloud," Aerith said, her voice light, but her tense posture gave her away. "Plan?"

Before he could answer, a streak of sand whipped out towards Konohamaru, but Cloud stepped in front of the sand, grabbing Konohamaru and tossing him one-handed towards Zack who leapt away, out of jutsu distance, grabbing Udon and Moegi as well. "Go on, kids. Get out of here, it isn't safe," Zack said. "We'll finish playing ninja later." They nodded, running away as fast as their little legs could carry them, and when he was sure they'd gone far enough he leapt back to Cloud's side.

The sand wrapped around Cloud's arm, the rough pieces of sediment grinding his skin as it started swirling around him, attempting to cocoon him. Blood turned the sand dark. Cloud grit his teeth and _pushed_ his chakra out, pulling deep from his pain and his rage. He was close to his limit. The wind picked up as Cloud's own malevolent red chakra enveloped his arm and ate away at the sand, almost without his conscious control.

Zack could see that Cloud's features were turning positively feral; his nails lengthened, his teeth and whiskers grew, his eyes turned purple, and his pupils slitted.

"NO! MOTHER!" The boy yelled, falling to his knees and clutching his head, shaking it violently. Cloud's red chakra continued to grow and pulse through the street, channelling itself towards the boy, curling around him, eating away at the chakra in the sand. As the last pulse touched him, the redhead passed out. Zack breathed a sigh of relief.

Cloud took a deep breath and let the red chakra settle. His eyes turned back from purple to blue, and his whiskers disappeared behind the make-up again. Aerith would still need to touch it up, though.

The two teens that were with him seemed wary. "Y-you!" Kankuro said pointing. "I know that kind of chakra! You're a monster like he is!"

Cloud shrugged. "And your point?"

Kankuro backed away. "We weren't told about this!"

"Look, Kunoichi-sama, we're sorry. We'll give you back the scarf, just let us go!" Temari said. "We promise we won't cause any more trouble! Just don't kill us!"

Cloud opened his mouth to speak, but just then there was a groan from the ground. The redhead, whom the papers had identified as Gaara, was struggling to his feet, but having a lot of trouble doing it. His sand had formed a tail that whipped wildly, and he was wobbling like he was drunk or not used to keeping balance on two legs.

Gaara gave a long-suffering sigh. "Aerith? Cloud? Am I dead?" He rumbled in deep voice. "You're dead." He growled. "There's something in my head."

"What did you just call hi-er?!" "What did you just call me?!"

"Okay, am I missing something here?" Zack said hysterically. "Who is this guy!?'

"Why am I human?" Gaara asked, staggering forward, reaching out for Cloud. "Cloud! It's not the lab. Did Sephiroth—was I injected with JENOVA? That was the next test." Gaara fell to his knees, sand creeping up his face.

"Who are you?" Cloud asked, kneeling down, reaching out a palm. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

Gaara blinked up, disoriented, one eye closed. "You...I don't know why you're Cloud-chan." When all three of them looked at Gaara, he elaborated. "That silk dress. There was that time with Don Corneo's, right? Before we met?"

Cloud and Aerith looked at each other. Kankuro had moved enough past his shock to ask, "G-Gaara, you know them? How?" before looking like he regretted it immediately.

Gaara ignored his teammate. "Then that time with Reno." Cloud put his hand over his face. _Like that wasn't half of Edge._ _Really narrows it down_. _Damn it, Reno._ He'd almost forgotten about it. "I must admit, I'm surprised to see you here, wherever here is. You've been dead a long time. I'm dead, aren't I? But there's lot of pain for the afterlife. And this thing in my head will not. Shut. Up!"

"And why do I find myself in a bipedal form? This is very uncomfortable for me. And I also am wondering why my afterlife would include you in a dress, though it also is very nice to see you again, Aerith."

Aerith nodded, a strange look on her face. "Yeah, you too."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. He'd finally placed that western continent accent, that even-toned voice. "Nanaki? Is that you?"

Aerith held her hand to her mouth and gasped, "Red?"

The red-haired boy inclined his sandy head. "Yes. Where are we, Cloud?"

* * *

Omake: **Or** **Why The Great Executioner's Blade is Now Named Princess**

They were training by the memorial again. Kakashi had directed Naruto to work on Sakura's taijutsu, while he and Sasuke worked on some of the Uchiha forms he hadn't learned yet.

"Again," Kakashi said. Sasuke ran through the kata he had memorized with his sharingan, performing it almost textbook perfectly.

"Good," Kakashi said. "Do that a couple of hundred more times, and you just may start getting it," Kakashi said. "Calisthenics now."

"Haha, sensei, very funny." Sasuke said, switching to push ups. "I'm not," push up, "afraid," push up, "of a little," push up, "hard work, you know."

"Could have fooled me before."

"But not now. There's more to life than revenge. I wanted an easy path to power before. Life doesn't work like that."

"And here I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"People change."

"Not that drastically."

Sasuke groaned as he finished his set, laying flat in the dirt. "I grew up. It had to happen sometime. I guess I just realized it would end in two graves. Is that so terrible to learn, Sensei? I wasn't a good person. I happen to like myself much better now."

"Squats."

"Oh, my favourite!" And the kid really meant it too. Kakashi hoped he wasn't turning into another Gai clone. He shuddered.

"So, Princess, huh? Any particular reason?"

"Not you, too. I've already had Naruto and Sakura ribbing me for like, weeks."

"I'm just curious. I figured you'd have named it Awesome McCoolsword, or the Great Sword of Amazing, or something."

"Seriously?" Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow, sitting up crossed-legged. "Why?"

Kakashi shrugged. _It's what Obito would have named it._

"Well, one, I thought of it in like three seconds," Sasuke began.

"Do go on," Kakashi said, "This is fascinating so far."

Sasuke bristled. "Shut up! You asked!"

Kakashi let out a great big sigh. "You kids have no respect for your dear, overworked sensei."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're a bastard."

"Guilty as charged," Kakashi said, voice filled with glee.

"And you enjoy it too much," Sasuke grumbled. "Two, the Great Executioner's Blade is extremely long and hard to say quickly. It may sound intimidating at first, but your opponents will already be asleep before you can even get it out of your mouth. Writing it is even worse, no matter if it's in romaji, kanji, or kana! My hands are cramping just from one mission report! And remembering how to spell it without looking it up? Forget that!"

Kakashi forced a serious look on his face, and nodded grimly.

"And three, look how pretty she is!" Sasuke said, gushing and getting squeaky. "You can't tell me this sword isn't a lady."

Kakashi frowned. "I don't follow."

"Look at her, though. She gleams. She's the kind of blade that knows how to kick ass and hold her own. She'll take care of you if you take care of her. She also likes blood, and it glistens on her blade like rubies before it disappears, leaving her smooth and shiny. Ladies accessorize with rubies!"

 _That kid is creepy._ "You're creepy," Kakashi informed Sasuke.

Sasuke just shot him a flat look. "I get it from your influence! And fourthly, people underestimate her just from the name. Does Princess cause you to run in fear like The Great Executioner's blade? No. Sure, I could have given her a fancy name like Masamune or Kusanagi, but what would be the point? It's another way to make an opponent underestimate you."

"I see," Kakashi said. Sasuke actually had ninja reasons. That was...surprising. He was getting to the point where he was dismissing him because of his personality, just like people used to dismiss Naruto. Just like people used to dismiss Obito. Just like people dismissed him, even the ones that knew better. "I think I understand."

* * *

 _Hahaha_ , Princess sent to Samehada. _My wielder gets me more than yours does._

 _Shut up_ , the chakra-eating sword replied, _I like Kisame. His chakra's got good flavor. And what kind of girly name is Princess?_

 _It's a far more elegant name than Executioner's Blade. That just sounds so...plebian. And Zack's blood is better anyway,_ Princess sang. _Tastier than any fish chakra. I don't get why you like fishy things when you're forged from scales. Cannibal._

 _Shut up!_ Nuibari mumbled. _Some of us are trying to sleep here!_

 _No one asked you,_ Princess and Samehada said together.

 _You broken needle!_

 _At least we still have wielders!_ Princess added. _And mine takes wonderful care of me!_

Y _eah, but yours isn't one of the Seven Swordsman!_ Nuibari argued.

 _Better than no wielder at all, needle nose!_ said Princess, and shut their connection in a huff.


	6. In Which There is Much Talking

The two men taking a leisurely walk in Rain Country paused for a moment's rest in their travels, black cloaks rippling in the breeze, sun shining on bright red clouds.

"Itachi," a deep gravelly voice said. The man who spoke had sharp teeth and blue skin. Hoshigaki Kisame.

Uchiha Itachi didn't speak; but he did turn, acknowledging his comrade.

"...You have a brother, right?"

"Hn," Itachi said in return. That was as good as agreement.

"And if I recall, he's the kyuubi jinchuuriki's teammate, our next target."

The air started to heat up with irritated, latent chakra. Samehada complained, chakra rolling irritably. _Heh. Heh. Itachi always gets bitchy when his brother's mentioned,_ Kisame thought. "What is your point, Kisame?"

"There are some interesting rumors coming out of Wave Country. Leader was pretty mad Gato was taken out. He had _plans._ " Itachi just stared blankly at him. "Samehada says your brother has one of the Seven Swords of the Seven Swordsmen. Zabuza's old blade. Of course, Samehada also swears up and down your brother's name is Zakkusu." Kisame grinned, showing sharp sharp teeth.

"...It's a sword." Itachi paused in his walking. "Why are you telling me this?"

The tall man shrugged. "Just thought you might be interested to know."

"Kisame," Itachi said.

"Yeah?"

"...We're going to Konoha."

"Heh."

* * *

 _Cloud narrowed his eyes. He'd finally placed that western continent accent, that even-toned voice. "Nanaki? Is that you?"_

 _Aerith held her hand to her mouth and gasped, "Red?"_

 _The red-haired boy inclined his sandy head. "Yes. Where are we, Cloud?"_

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Temari blurted out, so beyond terror that she had come right back to some desperate kind of sanity, _sans_ survival instinct. She honestly didn't care anymore if Gaara killed her. She just wanted the world to make sense again.

"Konohagakure," the blonde with the heavy makeup said to Gaara. "Elemental Countries. Long story, and we're just figuring it out ourselves." Turning to her teammate, the tiny one in the black silk and red embroidered cheongsam, she said. "We shouldn't talk here. We got a place we can go to talk this out?"

"I don't know, man; I'd say the Uchiha district but ANBU, you know? It'd be weird." The tiny one ran her fingers through her hair, messing up her pins. "They still keep an eye on that place. I didn't think about secure places to stay." She crossed her arms, bouncing on her heels, her massive sword on her back dwarfing her and inches from scraping the ground. Temari wielded a giant battle fan, but even she thought that was excessive.

The blonde scowled. "It's Konoha. How hard can it be?" Temari flinched back from her expression, but it didn't appear to bother either one of her teammates that the monster was showing its displeasure. "There has to be somewhere."

"A place to stay was in the briefing." The brown-haired kunoichi said.

"But is it secure, or is it Atsuko-sensei just being a bastard again?" The tiny one said. "'Underneath the underneath.' Heh. Counterintelligence sub-mission my ass. She's testing us."

Temari flinched. They _were_ on to them. Should she come out now about the invasion and betray her village, or wait until Gaara did it? Which one would please him more?

"Counterintelligence?" Gaara growled. "Turks? Black Ops? Deepground?" he demanded. Kankuro looked like he was going to faint as Gaara took a step towards them, sand swirling aggressively around him, still half covering his body, tail lashing from side to side as a sandy mane of hair formed and raced down his back.

Temari didn't know what Turks or Deepground were, but black ops sounded like an ANBU connection.

"Nanaki, we're all ninja," the brown-haired one explained, her green eyes earnest, using that strange name for Gaara again. It was like a code word. Were they in collusion? "And right now, you can call me Aiko, her Sora, and her Hikaru," she said, pointing out her friends. "We'll explain in depth later. Just roll with it for now." Pseudonyms. That led credence to Temari's theory. Gaara was working with them, relaying sensitive information in code. How had they not seen this?

Gaara looked puzzled at that pronouncement. "Ninja. Wutai…" he said slowly, "Their influence was already starting to grow after your...departure." The monster—Sora—nodded. "They were very widespread by mine. That makes sense."

Departure? Temari wondered. Strange names? It was definitely code. They _had_ met before. But how had Gaara done it right under their nose? And why the hostilities at first? Was Wutai the name for Sound?

"Wutai, huh? That explains a lot. The language, the fashion," Sora said. "Yuffie really did make it a new empire after the fall of Shin-Ra."

"I wonder how many years it's been?" Gaara mused. "At least a millennium. I saw Midgar completely regained by the wilds. After my time? I don't even know." He turned his head and looked around, taking in the village as they walked. "Enough to change the entire landscape. The Cataclysm."

Temari had no idea what that translated to. Unless Gaara meant the political landscape. Of course. What else could it be? Millennium was obviously code for another shorter period of time. Who was Yuffie? It was a conspiracy.

Aiko started. "That long?" she asked.

Gaara rumbled a laugh. "I have told you before, my species is quite a long lived one. I was barely a teenager when we met. Much as now, I suppose."

The assassination attempts failed. His 'species' was jinchuuriki. And he found it _funny._ But the rest really didn't make sense.

"We shouldn't be talking about this in the street," the blonde warned. They moved off, Gaara following a short distance behind them, looking calm and as easy as you please, deferring to the blonde's lead like it was nothing, with none of the aggression Temari was used to seeing from her younger brother.

Temari grabbed Kankuro's arm. "Should we follow? She asked, voice shaking.

Kankuro knocked off her hand. "How the hell should I know? How does he even know them?"

"I wish I knew. We weren't prepared for this. And you know about the attack on Konoha twelve years ago."

"Nine beats one," Kankuro said grimly.

Temari bit her lip. "You think that has anything to do with it? Should we go to Baki-sensei?"

"What's he going to do?" Kankuro said, "Run to his superiors? Tell the Kazekage that "Sorry, Gaara got cowed by the bigger monster, so the whole thing is off?"

"What's off?" A voice said brightly behind them. It was the black-haired girl, Hikaru. Temari and Kankuro blanched. How had she missed her? She leaned forward, crossing her arms, tapping her foot. "Seriously interested here, guys."

Kankuro uttered a very dirty string of words. Temari absolutely agreed.

"Yeah," Hikaru said, reaching up and grabbing them both by the backs of their necks, leading them forward with a surprising amount of strength. "Thought so. I think you should both come with us to have a nice, little talk." She pushed them forward where Gaara was waiting with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

Gaara's green eyes narrowed. "Don't dawdle again."

"Y-yes, Gaara-sama," Temari managed to get out.

They walked through Konohagakure for what seemed like hours, twisting through winding streets. It all blurred together for Temari; she was insensate with fear.

The building they were led to was a dusty, damaged ruin. It was a small traditional house. The windows were boarded up, it clearly had roof damage, and it was on a small parcel of land close to a training ground. The front door was sealed, so the the blonde bit her finger and pressed it against the seal.

The barrier dissipated, and the blonde opened the door.

"Ugh," Sora said. The house was covered in dust and cobwebs and was in dreadful need of maintenance.

"So much dust," Hikaru agreed, sneezing into Temari's hair as she pushed them forward into the house, slipping off her shoes with her feet so she wouldn't damage the tatami. "Man, this place must not have been touched in ages."

"It will do for now," Aiko said she turned to the Suna-nin. "Red? Or would that be Gaara?"

Gaara frowned. Temari shrank back, but all he said was "I have no preference."

"Atsuko gave us a dump," Hikaru complained, sucking in snot through her nose. Temari wrinkled her own nose in disgust. She had noble, beautiful features, but they certainly didn't match her manners.

"It was my parents'," Sora said, face impassive.

"What, seriously?" Hikaru said, craning her neck to look at Sora.

"Aa. They died that night. I wasn't supposed to be informed of my inheritance until I could handle the enemies my parents made. But needs apparently must," Sora said.

"Or this is Sensei's way of saying she expects us to become chuunin," Aiko mused. "'Underneath the underneath.'"

"That, too," Sora agreed. "We shouldn't disappoint."

"So," Hikaru said, drawing out the word. "Now that we're here, Gaara's siblings have something to tell us. And also, you owe me an explanation for how you know him because seriously, totally in the dark here."

Gaara inclined his head. "Cloud's group rescued me alongside Aerith from Shin-Ra's labs. I joined their organization later. I assume you must be his SOLDIER friend of which he spoke so highly."

Hikaru nodded stiffly, and then her eyes cut to Aiko. "You were in the labs?" There was something dark in the little kunoichi's voice.

"Not for long. Cloud and his team were very diligent in rescuing me," Aiko wrung her hands. Temari didn't recall Gaara ever being gone long enough for labs to come into the picture. The first bit of doubt creeped in, mingling with her fear, leaving her nothing but confused.

"Still, they took you? Damn it, Tseng, Cissnei, you promised!" she was clenching her fists so tightly her nails cut into her skin, and her palms bled freely. She laughed darkly. "Turks. Bunch of dirty filthy liars. I thought Cissnei distracted them. She probably led them right to us and laughed about it!"

Sora placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. There's nothing to be done about it now. We're here. We're alive."

"Zack, I'm safe," Aiko said, pressing her lips to the other's forehead. "I'm here with you." She hugged the smaller girl, pulling her to her. Hikaru or whoever nodded, and then pasted a strained smile on her face. It was like her face was unused to smiling.

"And we still have other things to talk about, isn't that right, Temari?" Gaara said, crossing his arms and levelling a glare.

Temari froze at becoming the center of attention. All eyes were on her, even Kankuro's. Her heart raced, sweat formed on her head and dripped in her eyes; she was dead either way. The tension racked up as they didn't blink, just watched her with expectant, emotionless gazes, save Kankuro whose face showed pain and remorse. He had no intention of joining in, though. Plausible deniability. And then Sora narrowed her eyes, and her fingers twitched, and Temari lost her nerve.

"T-there's going to be an invasion," she blurted out. "Sand and Sound. During the exhibition matches in the chuunin exam."

"Things just got a hell of a lot more complicated," Sora said, face impassive, voice even.

Hikaru swore, loud and long, before pacing through the room twice and then doing… squats? Aiko nodded like it was what she expected, her face grim, but Sora, Sora just crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall, totally unaffected, and turned to Temari's brother. "Nanaki, did you know?"

Gaara shook his head. "No. I can only suspect I was the trump-card. My seal is unstable. Even now, it wouldn't take much for the one-tail to release itself if I lost even the slightest bit of concentration. He's noisy and spoilt, like a child, crying out for blood. I have no idea how I ever thought this thing was my mother. She was gentle and kind."

"Red?" Aiko ventured. "Do you think maybe healing techniques would work?"

Gaara shook his head. "I cannot sleep. My mind must remain guarded at all times. There is nothing to heal. If there is any solution to be found, it will be with more modern techniques."

"And none of us are seal masters," Sora said. "Damn."

"I can still try," Aiko said, her face determined. "With my limit."

" _Do_ we go to someone else?" Hikaru asked, finished with her set of exercises, having climbed to the top of the sofa to sit. "A jounin? Atsuko-sensei or whatever? They can direct us to a seal master?"

"Do we trust them with it, more importantly," Aiko said. "We were assigned a secondary mission for exactly this. Reporting it is our mandate. If we don't, it could possibly be considered treason."

"So we report it in vague terms, then tell Atsuko-sensei we're handling it," Sora said. "She's given us lateral authority on this mission. We only need her for clearance."

"Which is freakin' bizarre as genin," Hikaru muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is S-rank at the very least. Way outside our pay grade. A foreign invasion, man." She ruffled her fringe, then blew the hair out of her eyes, frowning in annoyance.

Aiko sighed. "I have a feeling it's because we also are responsible for more of the paperwork that way."

Hikaru nodded. "Learning experience my ass. But how do we explain that guy?" Hikaru said, jerking her thumb at Gaara. They seemed to have forgotten all about her and Kankuro. "And where we got our information from?"

"We actually still don't have all that much information. Temari, anything else to add?" Aiko asked, her green eyes glittering.

And just like that, the attention of the whole room was back on Temari.

"W-we were told only our section of it. No one was told the whole thing," she managed to get out as Gaara's killing intent spiked. "We were just supposed to keep him calm until the finals. His transformation was to be the signal to invade."

Gaara's killing intent spiked again as sand exploded from him, and then miraculously, he let out a few deep breaths, and calmed himself down, the sand settling in place around him, making him look half animal again. "A tool. That's all I ever was to you people, wasn't it?" He let out another breath that sounded almost like a sob. He growled and held his head at the temples, falling to his knees. "A father that constantly tried to kill me. An uncle that almost succeeded. Siblings that don't care whether I live or die so long as they do."

Kankuro flinched back, hard. Temari wasn't doing much better herself.

" **I am not human,** " Gaara roared, his voice dual-layered. He fought to get control of himself. " **I never was**."

Aiko ignored the flailing sand that cut at her skin and face, kneeling down, gathering Gaara up in her arms. She glowed green, wind picking up in the room, rattling the furniture and paper screens. Both Sora and Hikaru stood at ready in taijutsu stances, kunai drawn, but they were letting Aiko do as she wished. The wind swirled around the room, pulsing before settling underneath Gaara's skin. After a long moment, Gaara calmed down, sagging into her lap as all the sand fell away. "I'm so tired," he murmured.

Just what was this kunoichi? Temari wondered. Was this strange technique why their biju was so calm?

"It'll make sense, Red," Aiko said, stroking his hair. "Both pieces of your lives are coming together. It's not an easy transition. Worse for you, I think." She pulled back, her brown hair falling in her eyes. "You all right now?" He nodded, and leaned into her touch, visibly relaxing.

It was unexpectedly tender, and Temari felt something pang in her heart. She did love her brother underneath all her fear, longing for the connection, and this strange girl just disarmed him so easily. She clutched at her chest, stunned to realize it was jealousy. Aiko could choke him or slit his throat if she wanted with little trouble. He left himself entirely vulnerable in a way he never did for them. Why did Gaara trust them so much? How did two foreign kunoichi gain his undying loyalty?

Sora relaxed, pocketing his kunai and continuing on as if nothing of import had happened. "Giving information in pieces is standard procedure of a terrorist cell. AVALANCHE did it all the time, as you recall."

"So we're back to what we need to do," Hikaru mused. She jerked her head at Kankuro. "Hey you, make-up guy. You've been quiet. What's your beef with Konoha?" She pointed at him.

Kankuro sputtered, "It's face paint!"

"Tomato, tomahto," Hikaru waved him away, then gave a lopsided grin. "Mmm, tomatoes."

Aiko said, "Vegetables aside—"

"It's a fruit!" Hikaru said, sing-song. She wiggled her finger. "You should know better."

Aiko rolled her eyes, but corrected herself. "Fruit aside, Konoha is one of the great five and an ally of Suna. Even allied with a village like Otogakure, you couldn't possibly think you'd win. It's not bragging; it's a simple run of the logistics, which make or break any army, even shinobi ones. Any invasion is almost guaranteed to fail. Sorry to say, Suna shinobi, but I think you're being played. Unless Kiri, Iwa, or Kumo join in, but that is highly doubtful, considering Kiri is in the aftermath of a civil war, Iwa is more interested in gathering power and seeing which way the wind falls, and Kumo is hesitant after not getting the war they wanted a decade ago."

"Nice pun," Hikaru said.

"The Wind Daimyo has been outsourcing missions to Fire," Kankuro said through gritted teeth.

"Ah," Sora made a noise of realisation. "Desperation."

"That would do it," Hikaru said.

"Considering the geographical make of Wind Country, much of their food must be imported. They're starving," Aiko said.

Temari turned her head, ashamed that these stupid foreign ninja had figured them out so easily.

"And proud," Gaara said.

"We have an alliance and plenty of food," Aiko pointed out.

"There are elements of Konoha I don't trust, just sayin'," Hikaru said, holding up her hands. "If I were Suna, I wouldn't necessarily trust us either. They ask for help, get a one-sided treaty. It's a rock and a hard place. No good answer." She tapped her chin. "Well, except not invading, but then again, we're back to Konohan goodwill."

"I agree with Hikaru," Sora said. "Konoha has too many secrets for me to trust. We'll inform Atsuko-sensei, but there's something about this whole thing that rubs me the wrong way. Something we're not getting."

"We'll tell her that with the report. She might have access to information we don't. What do we do with Gaara's siblings?" Aiko asked.

Sora blinked. "They're Gaara's siblings. We leave them alone."

As if it were that easy. "Don't they know too much?" Hikaru asked, fingering the hilt of her massive sword like she was just itching to use it. "We did talk about past stuff in front of 'em."

Temari felt the blood drain from her face. Kankuro looked like he was sick and tired of being talked around, instead of to. Or maybe he was also eyeing the sword.

"If they told on us, they'd be damning themselves. Even what little Temari has told us is enough to get her executed for treason. Kankuro, are you that cold?" Sora asked. "Would you be willing to lose your family?"

Kankuro clenched his jaw. He looked away. "No. I won't talk."

"We will keep you alive. We won't let this affect you. We aren't monsters," Sora said

Temari surprised everyone, including herself, when she burst into laughter. It was wild and uncontrolled, and as she doubled over clutching her stomach, Gaara looked at her like she was the one who was crazy. Kankuro took an involuntary step back. "It doesn't matter what we do," she said by way of explanation. "If they don't kill us, he will," she said, gesturing at Gaara. "We're already dead. What does it matter?"

She felt a hand on her back, turned, and jumped to see it was Gaara, looking at her with a strange mix of bemusement and compassion. That look, coming from him, from a face that looked so much like their mother was too much after constantly being in flight versus fight.

Her laughs turned into sobs, and she didn't notice Kankuro's wide eyes and aborted attempt to reach out as Gaara gathered her into a hug. She left damp spots against his shoulder as his sand reached up to cradle her, and she closed her eyes and waited for the end. Any moment his sand would crush her.

It never came. "You are alive, and as long as you are, you have freedom to make your own choices," Gaara said, green eyes filled with something that might be called warmth. "To some, this is a betrayal of the highest order. To others, this might be the very thing that saves our village. I trust them to find a way."

"I've never heard of them! How can you trust them!" Temari said, hitting his shoulder, having forgotten her fear entirely in her mania. "Over us! Why?"

Gaara just looked at her, expression unreadable. He just said, "I will no longer hurt you, physically or otherwise, so long as you make no attempts on my life."

"You never having heard of us just means we're that good at what we do!" Hikaru said cheerfully.

"Do you promise to keep quiet?" Sora said to her. Temari nodded. Her eyes skittered over to Kankuro, who also reaffirmed his decision by nodding. "Good. Keep yourselves safe. Act like nothing is wrong. I'm going to give Atsuko-sensei our report. We still have a week. Meet us at the training ground just outside this property tomorrow; that should be cleared for foreign nin to use, and we'll discuss details."

* * *

Umino Iruka hadn't actually seen Uzumaki Naruto in several months. He heard they had a long mission out of Konoha—his first—and then Hatake Kakashi, that irresponsible idiot, had nominated a genin team with less than six months of experience for the chuunin exams. Chuunin were squad leaders that led genin and other chuunin. None of them possibly had the leadership experience. Not in that little amount of time.

Hatake said they were ready. Sure, maybe he was only entering them for the experience, but people died in that exam all the time. Iruka didn't believe it and had been all too willing to test them. Only, he'd looked everywhere the past couple of days and hadn't been able to find Naruto or his team. It was like they were ghosts. He was about to give up when he saw short blond hair.

No, blonde hair, and soft rounded shoulders of a very familiar feminine form.

"NARUTO! You need to stop fooling around!" Iruka said, reaching for the shoulder of his sexy technique.

Before Iruka could touch him, Naruto whirled around and raised his arm, blocking his hand with his forearm, deflecting it easily, casting narrowed blue eyes on Iruka. "I'm sorry. Do I know you, chuunin-san?" said a polite, feminine voice.

Iruka stared. He'd swear up and down that was Naruto's sexy form, but…

Naruto didn't wear such heavy eye make-up. Naruto didn't have such a slender face in his sexy form. Also, he was wearing clothes—a battle dress of all things—and wasn't as busty. Or as tall as he made his sexy form. And his hair was short, rather than the pigtails Naruto added for "maximum sex appeal." And there were no lines on his face. They could be covered up by makeup or false skin, but Naruto had failed all his infiltration courses. Naruto was a good kid, but he liked being loud and the center of attention, and Iruka didn't think there had been enough time for even a legend like Copy-nin Kakashi to train Naruto to this level out of bad habits he'd had for ages. Not with how his scores had been in the Academy.

The girl's eyes widened, and she started backing away, palms up. _What the—_

"Sora-chan! You've found me a cute little chuunin! Good girl!" Iruka felt arms come up behind him, encircling his waist. He stiffened as he felt breasts against his back and a cheek rubbing against his. He turned red as she lifted him, but her grip was too tight for him to escape. Worrying, since he was a chuunin.

"Sensei, we've talked about this," the blonde girl who may or may not have been Naruto said with a long-suffering sigh. "Put it down," she commanded like one would a dog that was chewing on something they weren't supposed to, pointing to the ground. "Now." And Iruka was not an it.

"Aww, my dear little student, how you wound me!" her sensei said, but let him go, dropping him unceremoniously to the ground, but not before pinching his cheek and giving it a shake, making cooing noises.

Iruka turned, expecting to give Hatake Kakashi a piece of his mind for indulging Naruto's idiocy.

This was not Hatake. She looked nothing remotely like him.

A woman with clear grey eyes and long wavy white hair partially covering the left side of her face pouted back at him, her arms crossed under her generous assets. She wore sarashi from her waist up, easily visible through a short open kimono that reached about mid-thigh with a loosely tied haori over that. Both were sleeveless and gapped open, leaving the sarashi the only thing that protected her modesty. Her Konoha forehead protector was worn around the upper part of her bare left arm, and she had arm and leg guards with fingerless gloves that had metal plates for blocking weapons, pointing to a taijutsu specialist.

She wasn't wearing trousers, but a pair of very short shorts under the ensemble. Iruka politely kept from looking.

"Sensei," the girl said flatly. "You're stalking me."

The woman stuck her lip out even further and sniffled. "How did I end up with such a serious, uncute student? He was touching you. I had to defend your honour! Look at how much trouble you get into all by your lonesome!"

Iruka noticed she didn't deny the stalking charge.

"Ninja don't have honour," Sora said, palm over her face. "You just like messing with people."

"So uncute!" She said again in a huff. "I don't know what I did in a past life to deserve a team like you three!"

Sora just rolled her eyes. "I have no idea, but I'm going to guess it was being yourself," she said flatly.

Iruka had no idea who these two were, but something wasn't right. He'd never seen the jounin-sensei before, and while that wasn't so unusual, Sora would have at least had him during one of the academy rotations. He narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked, suspicion in his tone.

They ignored him completely.

"This is the path a teacher must walk," The woman said with a sigh, shaking her head. "With students that just don't care!"

"Yeah, well, you kind of remind me of a sandstorm, you sound so abrasive." Sora said.

The woman's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so? Surely I'm not that bad."

"You're worse." She scowled. "Still, regardless of your idiocy, you've kind of invaded my heart. It's just a talent of yours, I guess. Some grains of your personality aren't that bad." The blonde tilted her head. "Like maybe three."

"Just three?" The woman said flatly. "I love your faith in me."

"Well, maybe you should do something about it," Sora huffed.

"Well maybe I will!" said the jounin. "Ah, excuse me for a second, we left the cutie hanging~ Hi! I'm Atsuko!" She said, giving a short bow, head up. She cupped the back of her hand around her mouth and leaned in, saying _sotto voce_ , "Counterintelligence Division."

"I've never heard of any division dedicated specifically to Counterintelligence," Iruka said, frowning. ANBU did, and T & I was specifically a part of the Intelligence sector, and they ran CI missions since it dealt in both, in which case she would have mentioned being part of Intelligence, but to claim to be a part of a made-up division...

"Exactly!" She sing-songed. "You may be seeing my students around. It's their first time out, and they aren't as stealthy or as practiced at keeping secrets as I am, so pay no mind, all right?"

Iruka blinked. She just tried to lie straight to his face, and poorly, too. If those were her "skills," her students' must be downright abysmal. "And you expect me to believe that?" Iruka said, crossing her arms.

"Ah, it seems I've been found out," she said, completely nonchalant. "Toodles!" And she and her student performed a body replacement, leaving Iruka facing two dummies with _henohenomoheji_ faces.

Iruka blinked, and when they didn't disappear, he put his face in his hand, and then turned towards the path to the Hokage Tower.

* * *

"Now give me your proper report," Kakashi said, serious, once they'd entered the privacy seals of the training ground next to the old traditional house.

"I thought you weren't one for pranks, Atsuko-sensei." Cloud said, crossing his arms.

"There are three people that could possibly discover you based on familiarity. Umino, Ebisu, and Konohamaru. You've taken care of the last, I've just taken care of the first—don't give me that look, you know as well as I do his first stop will be the to the Hokage to report us and the Third will give him the cover more believably than I could. Avoid Ebisu at all costs."

"You're just getting back at the Hokage for all the paperwork, even if you passed most of it down to us."

Kakashi shot him a look, and then turned serious. "Now let me get this straight, make sure I interpreted the code correctly. Sand and Sound are invading?" he asked, voice all business.

"That's right, Sensei. During the exhibition matches of the chuunin exams, when they'll do the most damage. I heard it directly from the mouth of a Sand nin and his team." Kakashi shot him a sharp look. "Don't even think about it. It's not a lie. Telling us came with great personal risk to them. I want amnesty for them."

"And who are you to decide that?"

"You're the one that gave us lateral authority on this mission. It's what you get for being lazy. Besides, they're the Kazekage's kids."

Kakashi froze. "How in the world—"

Cloud shrugged. "The nine-tails is an effective threat. We don't have anything to fear from them. Of that I am certain. Let us handle them, please."

"The political implications," Kakashi said, thoughtful. "I don't know if you three did that on purpose, but for it to be them that told you…" He trailed off. "And you're absolutely sure this isn't some kind of ploy or cry for attention or a set-up?"

"All of us believe it's genuine. Besides, wasn't this the point of this little infiltration exercise? If it's gotten this far without our knowledge, I believe the protocols need to be reworked. It was only luck we found out."

"But an invasion...This could very well spark the next Shinobi World War. What I can't figure out is the timing. And why Sand would ally with Sound. Why Sound would even think about being a part of this."

"Sakura says they're a new village and not much is known about them."

"That's true enough. It's something we can find out later. I've got to take this to the Hokage right away."

"Any new orders?"

"No. Not outside the current parameters. We can't stop the exams. You're certain those three are on our side?"

"I'm certain they won't betray us, yes. Their jounin-sensei Baki is a different story."

Kakashi grimaced. "Baki. He's definitely a Suna loyalist. Then keep an eye on them, during the exam."

Cloud paused, thinking. "We shouldn't ask them to do anything that goes against their people. They risked a lot, believe it."

"We're shinobi, Naruto. In times like these, we can't afford to be naïve."

Cloud clenched his teeth. He understood that well enough. Still… "One more request; do you know any seal masters?"

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye, the other one still covered by his hair. "Why?"

"Do you?"

"There's Jiraiya-sama, but he's been out of the country for a long time."

"And there's no one else?" Cloud pressed.

"Not in Konoha. I was taught the basics by my own sensei and get by more than most. Everything else is made from publicly available seals. Why?"

"...No reason."

"I'm going to need something better than that, Naruto."

Cloud just stayed silent. He wouldn't give up Red. Not until he was certain Konoha wouldn't take advantage of him. Hell, even if he had to learn sealing from scratch himself. He looked after his own.

* * *

Nanaki was perched on the roof of Cloud's home, staring at the full moon when Aerith leapt up and sat down beside him.

"It gets easier with time," she offered. "Adjusting."

Nanaki hmmed. He'd lived a long, full life, watching the mortals around him age and wither and die. He knew how well time dulled things. He held up his hand to the moon, staring through his spread fingers. So strange, how they were familiar and yet not. Human fingers, instead of paws. He leaned forward and let his sand engulf him until he was his proper size and shape. He could do it with a transformation technique, but it didn't feel right somehow, not like his sand did. He curled up, putting his head into her lap as he did when he was a juvenile. "I know," he rumbled as she stroked his sandy ears.

Down below, Zack was poking Kankuro in the side while Temari performed her evening kata.

"So that is Cloud's SOLDIER," Nanaki observed as Kankuro started chasing him around with Karasu, Zack laughing madly like he was having the time of his life, jumping and dodging in an impromptu sparring session as Kankuro became angrier.

"Mine, too," Aerith offered.

"He is not what I expected," Nanaki said, whipping his tail. And it confused him.

Aerith knew exactly what he meant. "He was a shard, when he was with Cloud. How other people see us, how we see ourselves, is often different from how we really are."

"I suppose we all see things that way, through that veil."

"Yes. Do you worry about the future, Nanaki?" She asked, looking up.

"Right now, I am most uncertain," Nanaki confessed. Down below, Zack had caused Karasu to clip Temari, and now she was chasing after both of them, using a wind type jutsu that was carving up the front lawn.

"It's an uncertain time," Aerith agreed. "But I do believe we awoke for a reason." She continued scratching his ears. Nanaki let out a deep purr; his sand mimicked his nerves, like he could with his ocular technique.

"I wonder," was all he said.

And they continued looking at the full moon together, while laughter and exasperated shouts came from down below.

"I wonder," he repeated.


End file.
